Long Island Elder Law & Estate Planning

A revocable living trust is a versatile and powerful estate planning tool that you can use to accomplish many goals for protecting your assets both during the course of your life and after you pass on. A revocable living trust is just one of several different types of trusts that you could create and while there are substantial advantages to creating this type of trust, there are also some disadvantages as well. revocable living trust

Mark S. Eghrari & Associates, PLLC can provide you with personalized help with the trust creation process and we can work closely with you to determine if you should create a revocable living trust or if you should use other estate planning tools. We can also provide you with assistance making a legally valid trust document, funding your trust, and choosing the right trustees to manage the trust assets.  You should give us a call to find out if a revocable living trust is the right tool for you to use. You can also read on to learn more about what a revocable living trust is, how it works, and why you might want to create one.

What is a Revocable Living Trust?

A revocable living trust is a trust that you can create and modify throughout the course of your life. When you create a  trust, you separate the ownership of assets from the possession of assets. The trust can become the owner of the assets that you transfer into it, and you still remain in possession of those assets.

There are two primary types of trusts: revocable living trusts and irrevocable trusts. When you make an irrevocable trust, you cannot alter or change most things about the trust except in very limited circumstances. You give up much more control over the assets that you put into the irrevocable trust. But, when you make a revocable living trust, you are still able to largely control the assets that you transfer into the trust.

When you make a revocable living trust, you can make yourself the trustee of the assets that are held within the trust. That means you can decide what to do with the wealth with essentially no limitations on your actions. You can also decide to make big changes whenever you want to, including revoking the trust if you have decided that you no longer wish for the trust to exist and own the assets transferred to it.

Many people create revocable living trusts because they can use these trusts as part of their incapacity plan. If you have made a revocable living trust, you can name yourself as the trustee and you can name a responsible person as a backup trustee. The backup trustee can take charge of managing the trust assets if something happens to you. This way, you can ensure that someone is put in charge of your assets right away that knows how to manage the wealth that is held within the trust.

Another big reason to create a revocable living trust is to facilitate the transfer of assets outside of the probate process. When you create a revocable living trust, the assets that are held within the trust can be transferred to heirs or beneficiaries through the trust administration process after you have passed on. This process is much faster and much cheaper than the probate process, so your loved ones will benefit in big ways from your advanced planning.

Getting Help from a Living Trust Lawyer

Mark S. Eghrari & Associates, PLLC will work closely with you to make a revocable living trust that you can use to protect your wealth in case of incapacity during your lifetime and that will allow you to pass assets onto heirs or beneficiaries after you have passed away without those assets having to go through the probate process. We have extensive experience with trust creation and will work to ensure that your trust is legally valid and accomplishes the goals that you have set forth.

We can also provide assistance in determining what other estate planning tools should be part of your plan and creating a comprehensive approach to securing your legacy and providing for your loved ones. To find out more about the ways in which a living trust lawyer at our firm can help you, join us for a free seminar. You can also give us a call at (631) 265-0599 or contact us online to get the personalized help and support you need with making your plans.

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About Mark S. Eghrari, Estate Planning Attorney

Mark S. Eghrari is an attorney in private practice in Smithtown, New York. He has been in practice since 1988. Mark S. Eghrari provides extensive estate and tax planning services to individuals and businesses. Mr. Eghrari’s primary focus is helping clients avoid probate, minimize or eliminate Federal and State Estate taxes and protect their assets from the high cost of nursing care, if they become ill.