Happy Sunday!

This is a question from one of you out there that actually reads this newsletter! :)

If you are a regular reader, by the way, thank you. I hope you get great value from the information here…

Okay, back to the subject at hand – trusts with “simple” estates.

First, I guess I should clarify what I’m thinking about when I say simple.

Simple for me means outright distributions in a way that could avoid probate without a trust.

Remember, two of the primary benefits of a trust are: (1) probate avoidance; and (2) long-term oversight and distribution of assets (to minor children, for example).

So, is there any time you’d want to have a trust if those two things don’t exist?

Yes.

Privacy.

If, for some reason, you don’t want ANYONE to know what’s going on with your estate, a revocable trust will give you COMPLETE privacy from anyone that is not a beneficiary of the trust (and the beneficiaries will only be entitled to know what their distribution is).

You’d create the trust, have everything pour into the trust when you are gone, and then have the Trustee discretely make distributions from the trust to your beneficiaries.

Not everyone needs a trust, but if you do, they provide significant value for little additional work.

Hope this helps!

Have a great week!

Cheers.

Christopher Small
Founder/CEO
CMS Law Firm LLC

PS – don’t keep this estate planning stuff to yourself – you know it’s important and we LOVE referrals!