If I Don’t Have a Taxable Estate, How Will a Revocable Living Trust Help Me?
Dec 30, 2011 / By: Geoffrey H. Garrett, Estate Planning Attorney / Category: TaxesMany people associate saving taxes with trusts and with estate planning, in general. However, there are MANY benefits to revocable living trust planning that have nothing to do with saving taxes.
Non-Tax Revocable Living Trust Benefits
- Staying in control of your assets, though disability planning. This avoids court interference and saves time, money, and hassle, while keeping your private affairs private.
- Choosing who will help you with financial matters should you become disabled and when you die.
- Protecting and planning for your family, including your spouse, children, grandchildren, and pets. This means giving what you have to who you want, when you want, and how you want.
- Protecting your children from unintentional disinheritance.
- Providing for a special needs beneficiary, without disqualifying him or her from receiving governmental assistance.
- Protecting an addicted or spendthrift beneficiary.
- Protecting inheritances from court interference by creating trusts for minors and naming a succession of trustees for all beneficiary trusts.
- Creating a common trust for minor children so they receive the same support and footing as older siblings, just as you would in a family.
- Protecting your loved ones’ inheritances from creditors, divorcing spouses, and predators.
- Including incentive trusts to encourage family legacies.
- Avoiding probate; thus saving time, money, hassle, and keeping family and financial affairs private.
Though saving taxes is what drives many clients through their estate planning attorney’s door, they are happy to discover an entire list of non-tax reasons estate planning, specifically, revocable living trust planning is right for them.
Byrd : Garrett, PLLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.
Tags: Revocable Living Trust Benefits
