Since I did the Estate Planning 101 post yesterday, I thought today would be a good day to tackle the next most used estate planning vehicle for most people – revocable living trusts.

To begin with, there are certain people that will want to consider a revocable living trust as a part of their estate plan, and the rest that won’t (but please go talk to an estate planning attorney to make sure).

1. If you own real estate in multiple states.

2. If you own a business (LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp).

3. If you have young children.

4. If you want to give money to someone with special needs.

5. If you want complete privacy.

There are more categories, but those are the ones that generally come up.

Now, what is a revocable living trust?

I usually describe a revocable living trust as an imaginary box.

You are the creator of the box (the trustor or settlor).

You are the manager of the box (the trustee).

You are the beneficiary of the box (the beneficiary).

While you are alive you can do whatever you want to the box. Put stuff in or take stuff out. Change the box. Destroy the box.

It’s whatever you want.

When you die, however, the box becomes static – it cannot be changed.

Within the box are the directions for how you want your assets distributed.

That’s a revocable living trust in a nutshell. For more info, listen to the video!

Cheers,

Christopher Small
Estate Planning Attorney

PS – Click here to schedule a FREE strategy session with an estate planning attorney.