Making a Trust

A living trust is a legal document that controls the transfer of any property you have placed in the trust. When you pass away, beneficiaries named in the trust receive the property without the process of going through probate.

• How to create a trust :
  • You create a legal entity called a "trust" and transfer title of your property to it. The "trust" becomes the legal owner of the property. However, you keep control over the "trust" by appointing yourself the "trustee." At your death, the property goes to the person you've named to inherit it. You keep control over the trust while you are alive. This allows you to revise, amend, or revoke the trust for any reason.

 

• What you need to create a trust:
  
  To create a trust, you must determine the following:
  

• Property: what property will be placed in the trust
  • Initial Trustee: who will have the authority to manage the trust property. The initial named trustee will be yourself.
  • Successor Trustee: who will distribute the property at the time of your death.
  • Trust Beneficiaries: who will receive the property in the trust at the time of your death.
  • Other terms: other terms of the trust, such as the ability to amend, revoke, or revise the trust at any time.

• Cost Comparison: Probate vs. Living Trust
• Estate Planning Questionnaire

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