Your life has a lot of moving parts. You may be juggling funds between bank accounts, investments and retirements funds. Or maybe you’ve moved recently or bought property in Arizona. It may be time to talk to your attorney about Arizona Living Trusts.
What Is An Arizona Living Trust?
Living trusts, also known as revocable trusts, appoint a trustee or trustees to manage assets that a “settlor” has transferred to the trust. Often, the first trustee is you, the owner of the property. The trust document designates who will serve if the initial trustee becomes unable or unwilling to continue serving.
Why Would Someone Use This Type Of Trust?
Whether you need a living trust or not depends on your situation, among other things. Trusts are often an important part of an estate plan because of the advantages:
- Settlor receives income from the trust.
- Beneficiaries save money by avoiding probate.
- Trustees manage assets for the benefit of the settlor, eliminating the need for a court-appointed conservator.
- Settlor protects beneficiaries who cannot or should not receive their inheritance all at one time.
- The estate may receive substantial tax savings.
How Does It Work?
An experienced Arizona estate planning attorney should review your assets and family relationships. If you decide to use a revocable trust, the attorney will draw up the trust papers for the client’s approval and signature. Then, the trust must be funded, which means transferring property and assets to the trust. Basically, you will transfer the assets yourself as trustee.
If the person making the trust becomes disabled, the successor trustee will take over management of the trust. Note that the trust will benefit the settlor, even though someone else is managing it. After the settlor’s death, the assets in the trust will be distributed as written in the trust.
Do I Really Need A Trust?
If your estate has real estate with equity over $100K or $50,000 of anything else, you may want to use a revocable trust to save money and time. for any of any number of good reasons. For example, using a living trust can save money by eliminating probate. Also, upon your death, your beneficiaries will receive their inheritance more quickly than if your estate goes through probate.
A living trust is just one way to organize your estate plans with an eye toward the orderly transfer of assets to your beneficiaries. You and your legal adviser can decide if you need a trust and, if so, what kind.
How Can I Learn More About Living Trusts?
Find out more about your estate planning options by watching some of the free videos on our website. Call us at 480-418-8448 to set up an appointment to discuss your estate with a qualified Arizona estate planning attorney.
