Place assets like real estate into a revocable living trust to benefit your heirs.
A revocable living trust is an estate planning tool created to help you protect your assets during your lifetime. After death, it makes it easy to pass down your assets without issue. The primary benefit is that trusts allow you to pass down assets without having them go through probate first. But what assets should you put into a revocable living trust? Your Millman Law Group estate planning lawyer can help you navigate your specific circumstances, but in general, several types of assets can be placed into a trust to benefit families.
Real Estate
Real estate is one of the most common assets in a trust. This can encompass a variety of properties, including your primary residence, vacation homes, rental properties, and undeveloped land. By placing real estate in a trust, you can:
- Avoid Probate: One of the biggest advantages is that real estate held in a trust can bypass the probate process, allowing for a quicker and smoother property transfer to your beneficiaries.
- Maintain Privacy: Transferring real estate through a trust is a private process, whereas probate is public. This helps keep your estate details confidential.
- Protect Property: A trust can protect your real estate from creditors and potential legal disputes, ensuring that it remains in your family or goes to your designated beneficiaries.
Financial Accounts
Including financial accounts in your revocable living trust is a strategic way to manage and distribute your wealth. These accounts can include:
- Bank Accounts: Placing checking, savings, and money market accounts into a trust ensures liquid assets are easily accessible to your beneficiaries without probate.
- Investment Accounts: Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other investments can be managed within a trust to ensure they are distributed according to your wishes. This can also help avoid potential capital gains taxes that might arise if these assets were transferred outside of a trust.
- Retirement Accounts: While some retirement accounts like IRAs and 401(k)s may not be placed directly into a trust without tax consequences, you can designate the trust as a beneficiary. This ensures the funds are distributed according to your plan and can offer continued asset protection.
Valuable Personal Property
Personal property of significant value is another category of assets that should be included in your trust. This may include:
- Jewelry: Family heirlooms or expensive jewelry can be placed in a trust to ensure they are passed down to the intended recipients without complications.
- Art and Collectibles: Art collections, antiques, rare books, or other valuable collectibles can be protected and managed within a trust, ensuring they are cared for and ultimately given to those who will appreciate them most.
Business Interests
If you own a business, placing your business interests into a revocable living trust can be crucial for ensuring its continuity and proper management after your death. This can include:
- Small Business Ownership: Whether you own a small business outright or have a partnership, including your interest in a trust allows you to dictate how the company will be managed or transferred.
- Shareholder Interests: If you hold shares in a private company, placing them in a trust ensures they are managed according to your wishes and can provide for a smoother transition of ownership.
Life Insurance Policies
Another asset to consider including in your trust is your life insurance policy. By naming the revocable living trust as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy, you can control how the proceeds are distributed to your heirs. This can be particularly useful if you want to:
- Provide for Minor Children: A trust can manage the life insurance proceeds until your children reach an age where they can responsibly manage the funds themselves.
- Avoid Estate Taxes: If properly structured, a life insurance trust can reduce estate taxes by keeping the policy’s proceeds out of your taxable estate.
By carefully selecting and placing your assets into a trust, you can achieve peace of mind knowing your estate will be managed exactly as you intended.
Estate Planning Made Easy With Millman Law Group
Millman Law Group, PLLC is rare because it’s one of the only law firms that offer life planning in South Florida. From life care planning to the preparation of detailed estate plans, Millman Law Group has committed to serving Floridian elderly communities in Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, Ocean Ridge, Hillsboro Beach, and many other areas since 2018. Our dedicated team also specializes in special needs Trusts and catering to any age demographic because we know for certain it’s never too early to start preparing you and your family for your future. For the latest news in estate planning and elder care law, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, and Pinterest. You can also contact us at 561-463-6480.