Kuhn & Kuhn provides assistance with the creation of living trusts to clients making an estate plan, an incapacity plan, or otherwise making plans for their future. It is a common misconception that only people who are wealthy should create trusts. In fact, trusts are also a valuable tool for the middle class, for family business owners, and for farmers. Our compassionate and knowledgeable legal team will help you to determine if a trust is the right choice for you and will help you with the process of creating a trust.
To find out about the personalized assistance our Charlottesville, SC living trust attorneys can provide to you, give us a call today. We can help you to determine if a trust is right for you and can answer questions you may have on living trusts including:
- What are the benefits of a living trust?
- When should I create a living trust?
- How can a living trust lawyer help me?
What are the Benefits of a Living Trust?
A living trust provides many substantial benefits. One of the key advantages of a living trust is that assets can be transferred outside of the probate process after you pass away.
If you make a last will and testament to transfer assets, or if assets transfer under intestacy law, typically the probate process must take place before assets can be transferred. Since the probate process can take a long time, your heirs or beneficiaries may need to wait for months before they receive an inheritance. The probate process can also be very costly, so the value of an inheritance can be reduced. All of these disadvantages can be avoided for assets that transfer through a living trust.
A living trust also allows you to provide protection for assets during your lifetime in case of incapacity. By transferring assets to a living trust and naming a backup trustee, you ensure that your assets held in the trust can be immediately and appropriately managed by your designated trustee.
This can be very important if you have assets that require hands-on management. For example, if you have a family business, you need to ensure that a competent and trusted individual is placed in charge of it right away in case of your incapacity and that the company and its assets transfer in a timely manner after your death.
There may also be additional benefits associated with the creation of a living trust, depending upon the specifics of your situation. While a living trust will not help you avoid estate tax or keep wealth safe from creditors, it is both a versatile and powerful legal tool that many people can benefit from using.
When Should You Create a Living Trust?
A living trust should be created as soon as you have assets that you wish to protect in case of your incapacity or in case of your death. Creating your trust and putting your plans in place means you and your loved ones will have the peace of mind associated with knowing that your assets are protected.
There is little reason to delay in creating a living trust once you have assets to protect because you have enormous flexibility when you create a living trust.
Unlike an irrevocable trust, where you often have to give up a substantial degree of control over your wealth if you hope to get the full protections this type of trust can provide, you can still control your assets held in a living trust. You can name yourself as the primary trustee of your living trust and you are also free to modify or end the trust at any time.
How Can a Living Trust Lawyer Help Me?
A living trust lawyer at Kuhn & Kuhn can provide you with assistance in determining if creating a living trust is the best course of action to accomplish your goals for protecting your company, your assets, or your loved ones.
We have extensive experience providing assistance with helping individuals in all different types of situations,with trust creation including to business owners and owners of family farms who may have very valuable assets that they need to try to protect.
Our legal team will advise you on different types of tools you can use, will help you to determine if a living trust is your best option, and will assist you in creating your trust and going through the process of funding it. To find out the specifics of how our legal team can help you with all legal issues related to the creation of a living trust, give us a call at 843-577-3700 or contact us online today.
