Orange County, Los Angeles County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County and San Diego County Revocable Trust Attorney

Estate planning involves much more than creating a last will and testament. In fact, there are many legal tools that can help you best protect your loved ones and your hard-earned property. One commonly used tool that can reduce stress on your beneficiaries – among other things – is a revocable living trust.

If you would like to learn whether a revocable trust is right for your situation or discuss estate planning strategies in general, contact a California revocable trust lawyer at the Law Offices of Roshni T. Desai directly.

What is a Revocable Trust?

Also called a living trust, a revocable trust is a legal instrument that you create while you are living and have the power to amend or revoke at any time, as long as you have the mental capacity to do so. The steps involved include:

• Creating the trust document
• Transferring ownership of your property and assets to the trust
• Selecting a successor trustee for when you become incapacitated or pass away
• Providing instructions for the distribution of the trust property to the designated beneficiaries

Many people have concerns about transferring their property out of their own names into the ownership of a trust. However, with revocable living trusts, the trust creator – known as the grantor – serves as the trustee of the living trust while they are alive and mentally capable. This means that you have the ability to transfer property in and out of the trust, manage your assets, use your assets, and more. You even have the ability to revoke the trust entirely, which might be needed in events of divorce or other life events if you have a shared trust.

When something happens, and you can no longer manage the trust or you pass away, the individual you carefully selected will take over and fulfill your wishes for the trust property.

Possible Benefits of Revocable Trusts

The main benefit of a revocable trust is that it allows trust property to bypass the probate process. When you pass away, your estate goes through probate, which is the legal process of estate administration overseen by California probate courts. However, trust property is excluded from the probate estate. Instead, the successor trustee has the ability to distribute the property directly to your beneficiaries without any court involvement or oversight.

In addition, a trust allows you to give more detailed instructions about how you want your property distributed. A last will and testament results in the distribution of your estate property all at once. On the other hand, a grantor can provide for smaller distributions over time, which can help if:

• You have minor children
• You have beneficiaries who might spend their inheritance all at once if given a lump sum
• You have beneficiaries that you want to meet certain conditions – such as graduating from college – before they receive their inheritance

Contact an Orange County, Los Angeles County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County and San Diego County Revocable Trust Lawyer for More Information

At the Law Offices of Roshni T. Desai, we can advise whether a revocable trust is a good addition to your comprehensive estate plan. Call 714-694-1200 or contact us online to schedule your appointment for a consultation today.