20 Nov How a Revocable Living Trust Protects Your Privacy
When it comes to estate planning, it’s important to cover all the bases. Creating these four estate planning documents is a solid start. However, people with privacy concerns should take an extra step and create a revocable living trust. Read on to discover what a revocable living trust is and how it works to protect your privacy.
What is a revocable living trust?
A revocable living trust is a type of trust often used in estate planning. It’s made up of three components: a grantor, who creates and places assets into the trust; beneficiaries, who receive the assets; and a trustee, who manages the trust. The grantor is allowed to act as their own trustee, which enables them to continue to manage their own investments and finances after they’re placed in the trust. A family member or corporate trustee could be appointed instead, though, if preferred.
How are assets managed?
Assets are managed by the trustee, but the grantor still has a say because the trust’s provisions can be changed at anytime. This means the grantor’s assets are not locked into the trust, unable to be used. One benefit of this type of trust is that assets will continue to be managed even if the grantor becomes incapacitated or dies. So, this type of trust provides a certain amount of financial freedom for the grantor and holds up under unforeseeable circumstances. It can also continue to be used for generations.
How does a revocable living trust protect privacy?
A revocable living trust is able to protect a family’s privacy by letting trust assets avoid probate. Once a person’s legal documents go to probate, they are public records. Public records can be viewed by anyone. Since the assets listed in a revocable living trust don’t go to probate, they aren’t available to the public. This means that outside people do not have access to information about who in a family is a beneficiary of a trust. So, family finances and the squabbles that come along with who gets what are able to stay within the family with a revocable living trust. Prying eyes will have to look elsewhere to discover financial information.
Who should create a revocable living trust?
Estate planners often push for celebrities and the ultra wealthy to create a revocable living trust in order to protect their privacy. However, you don’t need to be a celebrity or Warren Buffett to want privacy regarding financial affairs. A revocable living trust can be created for anyone who wants to keep their family finances private.
Contact Boyum Law Firm here to create your own revocable living trust.