Troy's Trusted Living Trusts Lawyer

Guiding Living Trustees Across Oakland County & Nearby Regions

Creating a trust for your assets is a valuable estate planning tool, and our experienced estate planning attorneys serving in Troy, Oakland County, and surrounding areas can help you develop customized revocable living trusts All trusts involve trustees (those who own the trust) and beneficiaries (those who will benefit from the trust). 

Understanding Revocable Living Trusts

A revocable living trust is created and used while you are living. It lets you maintain control of property as long as you’re mentally competent, and it can be modified as your circumstances and wishes change. For example, if you set it up when your children are young, there may be provisions in the trust that put an age limit on when they can receive their trust benefits. As you and your children age, this clause can be changed, or revoked, with little process.

Is a Living Trust Right for Your Michigan Estate Plan?

How can you determine whether you should include a living trust in your estate plan? The only way to know for certain is to talk with an experienced estate planning attorney. But before you talk with your lawyer, you can learn how a living trust works and what benefits one provides. Our respected estate planning lawyers at BRMM answer those questions in the discussion that follows.

One important point to remember is that you should never create a living trust (or any other estate plan document) by filling out a form or using an online service. Taking that approach can have disastrous consequences for you and your family. Instead, you should rely on an experienced estate planning lawyer to help you create an estate plan that suits you, your unique personal and financial circumstances and goals, and your goals for your family’s future.

How a Revocable Living Trust Operates

A living trust is also often referred to as a revocable living trust. That’s because most often a living trust can be revoked (terminated) or changed at any time by the grantor or settlor (the term for the person creating it). Some other types of trusts are irrevocable, so the distinction is important.

A living trust is one made during the grantor’s lifetime. A living trust also may be called an inter vivos trust. Like any type of trust, a grantor creates a living trust by executing a written legal document that establishes the trust. The document specifies all the terms that apply to management of the trust and distribution of the assets.

A living trust names a trustee to administer the trust, as well as a beneficiary to receive the distributions. The trustee has a fiduciary duty to manage the trust for the benefit of the beneficiary.

One unique aspect of a living trust is that during the grantor’s lifetime, the grantor usually is both the trustee and beneficiary. There also may be other beneficiaries. Typically, when the grantor of a living trust passes away, the trust becomes irrevocable. A successor trustee named by the grantor then manages and distributes the trust property as specified by the grantor in the trust.

Advantages of a Living Trust in Michigan

There are many reasons that clients choose to use Revocable Living Trusts to manage their estates:

• Privacy – asset information is kept private
• Estate planning– it clearly defines the trustee’s wishes for property beneficiaries
• Asset protection – with a trust in place, costly probate proceedings are avoided after death
• Minimize estate taxes – the trust continues even after a trustee dies, so most estate taxes are avoided
• Children with special needs – a trust is a great way to manage the funding of care for a special needs dependent, especially after the parent is gone

Putting your assets into a trust while you are alive and well helps your family avoid probate proceedings after you pass. In fact, revocable living trusts are sometimes substituted for a will due to their easy administration after death.

Why a Living Trust Alone Isn't Enough

Sometimes people think that a living trust is a complete estate plan. That is not the case at all. Just as a will is not an estate plan, a living trust isn’t either. The trust is only one part of your estate plan. In most cases, you also need a will to ensure that all your property ends up in the trust on your death. If you own property that is not included in the trust, that property may be required to go through probate.

Creating a complete, prudent estate plan requires assistance from an experienced, knowledgeable estate planning attorney. An estate plan includes different documents that serve different purposes. A living trust is not a substitute for an estate plan, although it may offer considerable advantages as part of a thorough plan.

Our experienced BRMM estate planning attorneys welcome your inquiry about adding a living trust to your estate plan. 

Get in Touch with Our Troy Estate Planning Attorneys

The Troy estate planning attorneys at BRMM can advise you on how to protect your assets and your loved ones throughout your life and after you have gone. Contact us today to get started protecting your future. 

Further Reading on Trusts

• What Is a Spendthrift Clause in a Trust?
• Are Revocable Living Trusts Only for Rich People?
• The Power of a Living Trust: Top 7 Reasons Why You Need One
• 2 Things You Must Know About Revocable Living Trusts
• What Is the Role of a Trust in an Estate Plan?
• Important Tips: Why and How to Fund a Trust