Living Trusts

A living trust can help you avoid the cost and delay of probate. It can also avoid risks associated withjointly owning assets. A r revocable living trust won’t however protect you from lawsuits.

Though a revocable trust won’t protect you from lawsuits - you have the comfort of knowing that you can change or revoke your living trust as often as you can revise your will. Whether you and your spouse should create joint or separate trusts will depend on your creditor exposure and your jurisdiction.

There are trade-offs between the different ways to title assets. Without a revocable living trust, the court will distribute your assets under your will. This can be expensive, time- consuming, and cumbersome. (Probate costs can consume as much as 4% of an estate and delay estate distributions). If you bequeath $1 million through your will, your heirs may pay

$40,000 in probate costs, and wait years for their inheritances. 

A living trust  circumvents the probate process. Your assets immediately transfer to your beneficiaries.

You can take further steps to protect your assets lawsuit by titling them to a limited partnership. Your living trust (which avoids probate) can own your limited partnership. When you die, your ownership in the limited partnership immediately transfers through the living trust to your heirs, and avoids probate. During your lifetime your assets would be creditor-protected by the limited partnership.

An experienced attorney can help you implement a customized.  CLF is dedicated to providing you with quality legal counsel for all your estate planning needs. To learn more about how we can help you plan for and protect your assets, contact us today to schedule a complimentary consultation.