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Bypass the Probate Process with a Living Trust
If you want to protect your loved ones when you pass on, using a trust-based estate plan to manage your assets can help your beneficiaries receive them directly and avoid probate court.
Start my living trustWhy Should You Consider Creating a Trust?
Trusts ensure your assets will be distributed quickly when you die or become incapacitated.
Trusts allow for the private dispersal of assets.
Trusts enable your appointed executor to manage the assets contained in the trust.
Start your living trust with Citadel Law
Simple online process with expert attorney support
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Answer Questions
Complete our simple online questionnaire about your assets and wishes at your own pace.
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Attorney Review
A licensed attorney reviews your information and drafts your personalized living trust documents.
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Consultation
Discuss your trust with your attorney, ask questions, and make any desired adjustments.
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Sign & Execute
Receive your complete trust package with signing instructions and funding guidance.
What Are the Advantages of Using a Trust?
Avoid Probate Court
Spare your family the time and expense of going through the probate process, simplify your documentation, and keep your legal matters in-state.
Protect Your Privacy
Probate court records are available to anyone. A trust can protect your privacy by keeping your personal matters and information about your assets out of the public record.
Avoid Bank Delays
A trust ensures that your family will be able to access your assets quickly after your death. Using a will may create delays for trustees who are handling your affairs.
What Is a Trust?
A trust can provide income to the grantor during their lifetime and then distribute their remaining assets to the trust’s benefactors upon the grantor's death.
Trusts may sound like complex legal instruments, but they are actually fairly straightforward. In simple terms, assets are placed into a specialized trust, and the grantor or a designated trustee manages and administers the trust for its benefactor. The person who looks after the trust may also be a paid fiduciary professional. The grantor may also amend or revoke the trust at any time.
One benefit of setting up a trust is that it allows trustees and benefactors to circumvent the typical probate process. This means that when the grantor dies, the trustee can access funds to cover your death expenses and care for spouses, minors, or disabled family members. Assets in a trust may be more readily available than assets that are governed by wills.
Is a Trust or a Last Will and Testament Better for Your Needs?
A trust and a will are similar legal instruments that serve different needs. Many people use both types of documents at the same time. As you decide whether a will or a trust is best for controlling your primary assets, you should make note of your priorities and the needs of your loved ones.
A will may be a good choice if:
- Your dependents are minors.
- You wish to oversee your own end-of-life care.
- You wish to name your own power of attorney.
A trust might be best if:
- You want to circumvent probate.
- You want to provide your beneficiaries with access to funds and assets while you’re alive.
- You want to bypass estate taxes.
In many situations, it makes sense to use both a will and a trust to manage your assets.
How Do a Trust and a Last Will and Testament Differ?
Trust
- Is active while you're alive
- More difficult to modify
- Does not include guardianship in its terms
- Transferring your assets may be delayed
- Protects your privacy
- Does not involve probate court
- May include expensive fees
Wills
- Takes effect when you die
- Easy to modify
- Designates guardianship of descendants
- Transfer of assets happens immediately
- Is part of the public record
- Requires review by a probate court
- Is economical
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Trusts only cover assets you have transferred, in writing, to the trust, so you should also make a will that designates how assets outside of the trust will be distributed. These assets may include properties that are acquired after the trust is created. Wills also govern some situations that trusts do not, like naming a guardian for your minor children or forgiving debts owed to you. If you do not have a will, state law will determine how assets outside the trust will be handled. When you place most of your assets and property into a trust, you only need a basic will to specify who should inherit any property that is not held in the trust. Some grantors use pour-over wills to move property and assets into a trust after they die. These wills must go through probate on the way to the trust.
When you set up a trust, you can make it a revocable trust or an irrevocable trust. Revocable trusts can be changed after they take effect, but irrevocable trusts cannot be modified once they are signed. Generally speaking, most revocable trusts become irrevocable when the grantor dies. The benefit of using an irrevocable trust is that it protects the included assets by separating them from your personal assets. Consequently, irrevocable trusts are usually used by people who are at little risk of needing to liquidate those assets while they are alive.
If you control a revocable trust while you’re alive, you can transfer property into and out of that trust at your discretion. You will be the trustee until your death, at which point the trust will transfer to the successor trustee you appointed. If you co-own property in a joint trust, your co-trustee must agree to add or remove property from the trust.
A family’s needs and the grantor’s financial circumstances will determine whether a trust or a will is the best legal document to use. Wills are typically easier and less expensive to create and execute, but they may undergo scrutiny or be challenged in probate court. Trusts require designating a trustee, and they are more expensive to set up and implement. Wealthy individuals who want to keep their affairs private, avoid probate, and minimize estate tax exposure may benefit from placing their assets in an irrevocable living trust that transfers assets out of their name.
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