Creating and properly funding a revocable living trust provides many benefits to your family, both at the time of your death and for generations to come. Most importantly, a revocable living trust avoids sending your family through the probate process after your death. Any family beginning a probate after the death of a loved one should expect to spend between $2,500 to $5,000 or more on legal fees and court costs, and should expect the probate to take anywhere from 9 to 18 months or more before it is finished. Your living trust eliminates the need for probate altogether.
Another important benefit of a living trust is that if you have minor children and pass away unexpectedly, your revocable living trust can prevent your children from inheriting everything at age 18. The trust will support your children while they are still minors, but you have the ability to delay distributions to them until they are a little older and wiser. Many families prefer the assets to stay in the trust and only allow a portion of the trust assets to become available at certain ages. The most common distribution plan allows for a child to access ¼ of the trust assets at age 25, 30, 35, and 40 respectively.
Many families also like that a properly drafted trust includes a “spendthrift” provision. This language prevents a creditor of your children or beneficiaries from coming after your money to pay for their debts.
These are just a few of the protections a revocable living trust provides to your family. The estate planning attorneys at the IBC Law Firm provide quality service that can help you wade through all the factors that apply to your family and make sure the trust is properly drafted and executed.