Do You Need A Revocable Living Trust? | Articles Mesmeric

Estate planning can seem overwhelming, but it is one of the best ways to make sure your final wishes are carried out, as well as protecting your heirs. Many people are not sure whether they need a will or a trust or even what those two items entail.

Obviously, we all know that a will is a legal document that distributes your property to named beneficiaries upon your death. What many people do not know is that in order for beneficiaries to receive your assets, the property passed to beneficiaries by the will must go through the probate process. Under Arizona law, the probate process takes six months to a year to complete, and on rare occasions even more time. Not until the probate process is at an end, will your beneficiaries receive any assets.

Another common option is to create a revocable living trust. Within Arizona and Tucson estate law, this trust will help your beneficiaries avoid the probate process. With a trust, all of your assets are transferred and essentially owned by the trust. The trust identifies which beneficiaries receive your property and, unlike a will, the property can be transferred to the heir without going through a time-consuming and potentially expensive probate process.

On the face of it, a trust sounds like the ideal way to ensure that your loved ones are quickly and easily accommodated. However, while a will is a simple, inexpensive document, a trust takes much more time to create. A will can be created by an individual without a lawyer?s help. With a trust, it is important to find an attorney experienced in Tucson estate law. Because of this, a trust costs much more than a will. In addition, even with a trust you will need at least a simple will that details what will happen to any property not expressly discussed in your trust.

Trusts are generally the best way to go if you have a decent-sized estate and wish to avoid probate. But, even with a small estate, there are several benefits to creating a trust instead of just a will. Perhaps you have a child that is mentally or physically disabled and receiving state assistance. With a will, the child?s inheritance can potentially be taken by the state and the government benefits can be interrupted. However, with a properly drafted trust, the disabled beneficiary?s inheritance will be used for their special needs, and the government benefits will not be interrupted. Additionally, if the trust maker is currently in a second marriage, a trust creates a legal duty for the trustee or surviving spouse to distribute assets to the children of both spouses, which prevents the children of one spouse or the other from being disinherited. A trust also will protect your beneficiaries from creditors, greedy ex-spouses, and other predators that might want to sue for a piece of the inheritance.

Yet another advantage of trusts is that if the trust maker becomes incapacitated, your Successor Trustee will step in and can direct the medical and financial affairs of the trust maker. A will, however, does not allow for this. Instead, a family member must petition the court for a guardianship and conservatorship, a court-involved, time consuming, and expensive process.

Be sure to discuss your needs with a Tucson estate law expert. An attorney knowledgeable about Arizona law regarding wills and trusts can help you navigate the complex process of estate planning.

Julio Arrant enjoys writing and discussing estate planning. For further details about estate planning Tucson or to find out more about a Tucson family law attorney, please check out the TucsonEstateLaw.com website now.

Source: http://articlesmesmeric.com/finance/estate-plan-trusts/do-you-need-a-revocable-living-trust

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