Both
Wills and Trusts are devices which you can use to provide for the
distribution of your estate upon your death. Deciding whether a Will
or a Trust best fits your needs depends on your circumstances. A living
Trust is a popular alternative to the traditional Will, but you should
weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each before deciding on one
form or the other.
What
does a Will do? A
Will is the legal document that allows you to distribute your property
to those you choose. A Will allows you to designate beneficiaries to
receive specific items from your estate, and other beneficiaries to
receive everything else. For example, if you want your house, your car,
or your antique thimble collection to go to a certain person or
organization, you designate that person or organization as the
beneficiary. Who's
going to make sure that your antique thimble collection goes to the
proper person? The executor of your Will. The executor's the person you
designate to carry out your wishes. A
Will also gives parents of minor children the chance to nominate a
guardian. The court makes the final decision when appointing a guardian
for your children after your death, but the court will usually accept
your nomination. A guardian’s legal responsibility is to provide for
your child’s physical welfare. What
does a Living Trust do? A
Will comes into play only after you die, but a living trust can actually
start benefiting you while you are still alive. A living trust is a
trust established during your lifetime. It is revocable, which allows
for you to make changes. You will transfer substantially all of your
property into your living trust during your lifetime, and any omitted
assets can be transferred into the trust at the time of death through
the use of a simple Pour-over Will. You should always make a Pour-over
Will at the time that you establish your trust. A
living trust will be used as the mechanism to manage your property
before and after your death, as well as provide how those assets, and
the income earned by the trust, are distributed after your death. If you
should become incapacitated or disabled, the trust is in place to manage
your financial affairs, usually by a successor trustee, if you were
serving as trustee. A living trust is not subject to probate, and
therefore, all provisions of the trust will remain private. Joint
living trusts are also possible. They simply combine the assets of a
husband and wife into a single trust, governed by a single trust
document. However, if estate tax minimization is important (for combined
estates which will exceed $625,000), the joint living trust must be very
carefully drafted with the help of an attorney in order to achieve the
desired goals. What
happens if I don't have a Will or Living Trust? The legal term for dying without a Will is dying intestate. If you do not specify through a valid Will or Living Trust who will receive your property, state law controls and generally distributes your property to your spouse and/or your closest heirs. This may or may not be what you intended. Furthermore, if you fail to nominate a guardian for your minor children, the state could appoint someone you don't trust as a legal guardian of your minor children. Finally, by failing to appoint someone to carry out your wishes, the state can appoint anyone to be the administrator of your property, and the administrator may have to pay certain fees or post a bond at the expense of your estate, before he or she can begin to distribute your assets. |
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Differences between a will and living trust. Do I need both?I've met many people and Will and Trust who are kind, caring and concerned. In fact, mail order is full of many such people. But there's that occasional will and trust who only thinks of himself, is only out for the almighty dollar and wants to hurt anybody they can to get that dollar or will and trust. Differences between a Will and a Living Trust. Do I need both? What a
horrible existence! This type
of person will never enjoy the sweet fruits of honesty and friendship that
is needed to keep above the competition in the next century of Will and Trust. Most
bankers want a reference on you mainly "for the record" The
world is full of swindlers and con men who pretend to be someone else or a
will and trust in order to divert funds that don't belong to them. Differences
between a Will and a Living Trust. Do I need both?
Bankers do not
need the aggravation of being involved with will and trust customers who immerse
them in litigation or unfavorable publicity. Is there anything immoral or illegal about making a company or Will and Trust in an offshore location? In and of itself, the answer is no. Most, if not all countries recognize the authority of other will and trust to make their own laws as far as company registers and taxation is concerned (and car registrations, passport, insurance, etc. for that matter). A Will and Trust is quite legal to move to another country in order to save taxes (even though your own country may not quite like the idea of the will and trust and usually will attempt to legislate against it), so it is also quite legal to register a company or form a will and trust in a jurisdiction that extorts little or no taxes. Taken as a group, foreign stocks will generate higher returns than U.S. stocks in some years, but not in others. Learn more about will and trust and other products we offer. Differences between a Will and a Living Trust. Do I need both? Living Trust Making a legal living last will and testament form Medical durable power of attorney forms Legal Forms Lawsuit & Asset Protection Form a Nevada Corporation forming a new Protect Your Assets from Nursing Home Care Costs Living Trusts estate planning living trust durable power of attorney forms medical power of attorney revocable living trust irrevocable living trust estate trust legal forms legal documents legal services legal information legal contracts legal will legal resources legal help legal software living will last will and testament living will forms will and trust writing a will making a will will form articles of incorporation incorporation services business incorporation nevada incorporation incorporation forms small business incorporation company incorporation incorporation information llc incorporation self incorporation learn about incorporation incorporating in nevada incorporating a business incorporating services incorporate online incorporate a business incorporate in nevada incorporate your business incorporate yourself incorporate your company nevada corporation form a corporation nevada llc nursing home insurance Differences between a Will and a Living Trust. Do I need both? |
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