Understanding Living, Irrevocable And Specialty Trusts
We have been advising individuals and families in Lebanon County about Estate Planning and retirement matters for over 40 years. We know how to explain your options in clear, simple language. Trusts are one of the areas in which we receive the most questions.
Simplifying The Estate Planning Process
We understand that trusts may seem complicated. However, they offer incredible flexibility and variety, and you do not need a large estate to utilize them. There are several broad categories of trusts, including revocable, irrevocable and specialty trusts. Within each category, you can create a trust that will function according to the instructions you provided to the trustee.
Helping You Plan For Retirement And Beyond
As a small law firm, we are able to combine a comprehensive approach to Elder Law and Estate Planning. These two areas of law go hand in hand because many clients have estate planning goals but don’t know the measure of financial liquidity they will need in retirement.
A Revocable Living Trust is one solution for preserving control over your finances in retirement, yet avoiding probate. Despite their growing popularity, we still encounter many questions about this type of trust. A revocable living trust is completely revocable during the owner’s lifetime. In this trust, individuals typically name themselves not only as the trustee, but also the beneficiary. Assets can be freely transferred into or out of the Revocable Living Trust, and the trust itself can be modified or revoked at will. After the individual’s passing, however, the trust becomes irrevocable. At that point, the successor trustee may distribute any assets transferred to the trust pursuant to the trust’s instructions without having to go through probate.
With irrevocable trust options, you do not retain control over the transferred assets. However, the trust document will authorize how the trustee can distribute assets to the named beneficiaries, such as in a lump-sum payment, in installments or only for specific reasons. Specialty trusts are an example of an irrevocable trust set up to accomplish a specific goal, such as caring for a disabled child.
Contact A Trusts Attorney
We have the estate planning experience to preserve the values that are important to you. Call 717-769-1794 or complete our online contact form to set up a consultation with us at our Lebanon office.
