In recent years, more and more people are considering establishing a living trust to protect their hard-earned assets. If you fall into this category, please don’t hesitate to contact a talented Montgomery County Trust Attorney who can help you determine if a revocable living trust best suits your needs. Please continue reading to learn the benefits of revocable living trusts in Maryland.
What is a Revocable Living Trust?
Firstly, a trust is a fiduciary arrangement in which one party (the grantor) gives a second party (the trustee) the right to hold title to property or assets on behalf of a beneficiary or beneficiaries. A living trust can protect your hard-earned assets and distribute the funds to your heirs. The two most commonly used living trusts are irrevocable and revocable.
An irrevocable trust requires the grantor to relinquish all of their rights to the ownership of the trust. Essentially, because they revoke their rights to the assets, the trust cannot be terminated or changed in any way without permission from the beneficiary after its creation. Unlike an irrevocable trust, a revocable allows you to change the terms of a trust or to revoke the trust entirely at any given time. With a revocable living trust, you can modify it during your lifetime as long as you are of sound mind and don’t require permission from the beneficiary. You still own and retain control over the assets in a revocable trust. Following your death, the trust funds will be transferred as you’ve dictated through the trust terms.
What Are the Advantages of Revocable Living Trusts?
Revocable living trusts offer grantors much more flexibility and control than an irrevocable trust. A properly prepared and well-funded revocable living trust can benefit you and your loved ones. A revocable living trust is a flexible estate planning tool enabling you to manage and distribute your assets effectively while avoiding the costly and often time-consuming probate process. This legal instrument is particularly beneficial if you own real estate assets in more than one state, as it allows your estate to avoid a separate probate proceeding in the other states following your death.
In addition, it provides a more efficient administration of your estate, as it prevents court interference after your death or if you’re incapacitated. Since you can place all your desired assets into one plan controlled by one set of instructions, you can rest assured that your wishes will be carried out accordingly. Furthermore, it gives you and your loved ones the maximum privacy. Your will and inventory of your assets in probate are available to the public. This means anyone interested in your estate can access what assets you have and who will receive them per your directions. However, revocable trusts offer you maximum privacy as the assets held in your trust avoid the public court processes.
As you can see, there are several advantages of revocable living trusts. If you’re considering creating a trust as part of your estate plan in Maryland, it’s in your best interest to contact a trusted attorney from the legal team at JD Katz, who can help establish a trust that safeguards your hard-earned assets.