It may be time for a trust. Have a Will? Your assets may land in probate. Free yourself from any worry.
If you’ve accrued any assets valued over $75,000.00 than you may want to seriously consider some type of trust. In Arizona, any assets or accumulated assets over $75,000.00 may automatically go to probate upon your death. Depending on the types of assets you or your loved one may have may depend on the type of trust that you will need and it is always the best to speak to a qualified attorney who can assist you in what type of trust you may need for your situation. The last thing that you want is for your assets to be stuck in probate for long periods of time when all of these issues could be resolved by taking the time to speak to an attorney.
Our law firm offers FREE consultations to help you properly asses your assets and determine the best way to protect them.
What is a trust? Think of a trust as a way to protect what you’ve worked for after you or your loved one passes away. It is also a way to protect those assets while you are still alive. Basically, you transfer all legal ownership of your assets to your trust while you continue to use them while you are alive.
What does your law firm include in a trust? Our living trust packages include a multitude of documents to help protect your assets when you are either incapacitated or have passed away. Here is a full list of documents you will receive with your living trust:
- Living Trust
- Declaration of Trust
- Certification of Trust
- Assignment of Personal Property
- The Last Will and Testament including a Pour Over Will
- A General Power of Attorney
- A Health Care Power (including the “Living Will”)
- Final Disposition Instructions (i.e., “burial instructions”)
- The Instructions for the Distribution of Personal Property
- The transfer Deed
- A Summary of Estate Planning Provisions
What types of trusts can you prepare for me/us? Our firm can prepare several different types of trusts such as a Living Trusts, Revocable Trust or a Irrevocable Trust. Depending on your wishes and specific situation would depend on which type of trust would be suite you and your needs. Once you schedule your FREE consultation with one of our attorneys we will be able to go over all of this with you, as well as the importance of trust in much more detail than what we provide on our website.
Let’s take a quick look at the differences of a revocable and irrevocable trust:
- Revocable Trust/Living Trust – As the name states a “revocable trust” or a living trust can be revoked, amended, redrafted or altered. As long as the grantor is alive the revocable trust can be modified.
- Irrevocable Trust – As the name states an “irrevocable trust” cannot be revoked, amended, redrafted, terminated or altered, unless under judicial modification or a court involved mutual agreement to the trust has been given.
I have a Will right now, is that good enough? Why would I need a trust? Like we mentioned above, the issue with having a will is that if you do have assets worth over $75,000.00 than those assets may land themselves in probate court.
If those assets land in probate upon your death than there are a few issues that may happen next:
- You or your loved one will probably spend their own time and money to get those assets out of probate, which may include additional attorney fees and alike.
- Probate could take months if not years to complete and when it is complete, you could be left with nothing.
What are some benefits of having a trust?
- The possibility to avoid probate or any other type of litigation
- Avoiding marital interest in title
- Prevention of partition of your land
Some other benefits of trusts are privacy of ownership, limits judgments and leans, no one person owns the property and upon your death the trustee you’ve appointed is now the manager of your trust.
What is a grantor? If you are the one creating the trust than you are referred to what is commonly known as a “grantor”. As the grantor and as mentioned above, you will still have full control over and have full use of your assets. If you have appointed a trustee, but want to change your trustee or beneficiary, as a grantor you can do so at any time.
What is a trustee? When creating a trust, you would appoint a trustee that would handle your estate, property, etc. after you have passed away. A trustee could be a friend, family member, attorney or someone else that you feel comfortable with managing your assets when you have become incapacitated or pass away. A trustee however, has no role within the trust until you have become incapacitated or pass away.
When debating whether or not you should create a trust for your family there are some things to consider:
- Do you have assets that are valued over $75,000.00?
- Do you have property that you would like to protect during and after your passing?
- Are you concerned about someone else contesting your wishes after your passing?
What type of questions will your firm ask me when I call your firm about a trust?
Whenever we are trying to assess whether or not a trust is going to be the best for you we’ll need to know a few key factors that will help us establish the best service.
- What type of property do you currently own?
- Do you have accumulated money in your savings or other financial institutions?
- What other assets do you have that are worth of value?
Although these may seem like “basic” questions, even answering these few key questions will help our attorneys understand what may be the first talking points. Next we will ask you to either visit us at either one of our conveniently located offices in Peoria or Scottsdale, Arizona for a FREE consultation.