I didnt’ think I needed living trust software when I set up my mom’s estate. Though it was an irrevocable living trust, which can be complicated, I had gotten all the living trust forms I needed from one of those trust books when I set up my dad’s estate and it was a breeze. But I have to say “Living Trust Maker” was really a huge timesaver. I already knew the advantages when you make your own living trust. (Save moolah that would have gone to an attorney.)  But the coolest thing about this living trust software was the ability to make changes. (My mom’s situation kept changing…over and over.)    And..yes…online support. There was actually a human being to help. So, I totally recommend the living trust books. But if you’re more of a hands-on person, or just like to have everything spelled out for you, I would definitely go with living trust software like “living trust maker.”

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Spare your family the hassle and expense of probate!   Probate court proceedings can take months, and cost thousands of dollars. A living trust lets survivors transfer property quickly and easily to the people who inherit it. Living Trust Maker software includes everything you need to create your own valid living trust. Just launch the software and follow the easy, question-and-answer format. In little time, and at a fraction of the cost of a[Read More]

Not sure what’s the difference between a living trust vs. will? Living trusts and wills are both beneficial estate planning documents, and while both have value, they have their differences.

Here’s a simple breakdown tackle the living trust vs. will question, to understand the differences between these two documents and how they both can help you make your own estate plan.

What’s In a Will?

What exactly does a will do? A will is a document that allows you to distribute your property to the beneficiaries of your choosing.

You’re also able to appoint an executor who will be responsible for managing your property after your death and making sure that your beneficiaries receive their designated assets.

A will also gives parents the opportunity to appoint a guardian who will be responsible for caring for their children if they are ever unable to. Fact: A will is created during a person’s lifetime but is only effective after death.

What’s In a Living Trust?

What about a living trust? This document is different from a will in that it can be effective during a person’s lifetime.

This document is able to easily be adjusted during your lifetime. A living trust is similar in that it allows you to manage your assets.

You’re able to choose how the assets in your living trust will be distributed after your death. You will choose beneficiaries who will receive the assets and a successor trustee who will help to manage and distribute your belongings.

If you become incapacitated, your successor trustee is able to manage your assets and help you with your financial affairs. This is a big benefit to creating a living trust.

Which One Do You Need?

It’s beneficial to set up a will because you’ll be able to choose how your assets will be distributed after your death and you can also help to ensure that your children are always cared for. This is something that is extremely beneficial.

It’s beneficial to create a living trust if you’re looking for a way to manage your asset distribution. If you want someone to be able to access these assets during your disability or incapacity, you will want to create a living trust instead of a will.

Both documents can be extremely beneficial. It’s important to work with an attorney when creating any estate planning. While it’s possible to do your own planning, it’s easy to make costly mistakes. A lawyer can help walk you throughout the process of how to decide on the living trust vs. will debate and can also answer all of your questions and concerns.

What’s an irrevocable life insurance trust? And how can it help your heirs avoid serious tax penalities on your estate?

Here’s an inside look at how an irrevocable life insurance trust works–and what you can to do to set one up on your own.

If You Got Assets, You Wanna Protect Them

For those with a high net worth, estate planning is essential to making sure their heirs get the majority of the assets they are leaving behind. Without proper planning estate taxes can take a significant portion of the inheritance, and if the inheritance is in mostly real estate and other non-liquid assets it can force the heirs to sell the property for less than it is worth just to pay for the taxes.

As devastating as this can be, there are ways to plan for the upcoming tax hit, and using life insurance is one of the best ways to prepare for the upcoming estate problem.

Life Insurance Vs. Life Insurance Trust

Using life insurance proceeds a person can pay the estate taxes so the existing assets can pass to the heirs and they will not have to worry about paying off the government. But if a person just buys a large whole life insurance policy, or a large universal life policy, it will simply add to their estate–causing an even bigger problem.

To get around this, most people purchase the insurance, and place it inside of an irrevocable life insurance trust. (These trusts move the assets outside of their estate, lowering the amount of the assets that are applicable to be taxed.)

Benefits of an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust

There are a number of different trusts that can be used for estate planning, but there are not many that are more versatile as the ILIT.

The reason the ILIT is such a great planning tool, is that the trust does not have an owner. This means once the money has been put into the trust it is not owned by anyone. It also means it can grow tax free as long as the policy is in force.

Because the trust has no owner, there is nobody that can cancel or change the policy. So as long as there is an estate problem, and as long as those who started the ILIT continue to give money to pay the premiums, the insurance will be around to help the heirs of the estate.

One of the hardest parts of setting one up is the number of people and the number of steps involved. An attorney needs to draw up the paperwork, a financial advisor to provide the insurance policy, and an institution to manage the living trust.

Setting one up is time-consuming, but in the end the tax benefits of having an ILIT is much better than paying more in taxes than necessary. Good luck setting up your own irrevocable life insurance trust.

Not sure what a joint trust is? Want to know how a joint trust can save you and your spouse a ton of cash and pass on your assets without a huge tax penalty? Here are some facts about this important financial option–and whether it can help you and your family.

What is a Joint Trust?

In a nutshell, a joint trust, also commonly known as a ‘living trust’ is a contract or trust document which is generally drawn up by a married couple in order to enable them to manage their assets and benefit their families, while they are alive and more so after the death of one or the other.

Such a trust can be established by any couple. In most cases, it generally proves to be more beneficial for married couples to enter such agreements. (Laws in different states of the USA differ with respect to the eligibility requirements for such setups.) It is therefore prudent and in most cases essential to consult a lawyer for the actual drawing up of the document according to the laws in your particular state.

What You Must Do

Certain requirements are required for these kinds of trusts.

Firstly, both individuals setting up the trust must do so of their own volition. Secondly, the contract must have nominated beneficiaries who are to benefit from the establishment of the trust. Thirdly, property must be transferred to the trust. Lastly, the property which is transferred to the trust must be owned either individually or mutually by the creators of the trust, who are also known as grantors.

How a Joint Trust Works

A trustee manages the couple’s assets and the grantors usually select an individual or an institution as trustees. The grantors usually name themselves as the beneficiaries of the joint trust and sometimes also nominate their children. They also elect themselves often as co-trustees or ‘successor trustees’.

Usually a joint trust has a clause which makes it revocable in the event of the spouse’s death. Such a trust is known as a Joint Revocable Living Trust.

Pros and Cons of a Joint Trust

Advantages: A joint trust ensures more privacy than a will. Having such a trust also ensures ease of management, with respect to having to manage separate assets in individual trusts. When a beneficiary of a joint trust expires, there is hardly any cost incurred in legal hassles and transfer of property.

In comparison, probate not only takes longer (three to six months or more), but the legal expenses also mount up to nearly 10 percent of the person’s assets.

Disadvantages: Tax expense is one of the biggest burdens of a joint trust, since it causes the property to be viewed as a single whole and thereby subject to greater tax rates. Another potential disadvantage is that, in the case of a divorce, separating the property becomes a huge ordeal financially and legally.

Unlike other trusts, a trust of this kind is so complicated it’s imporant to consult an attorney before embarking on this form of financial protection.

Interesting discussion over here about wills versus a living trust?

Question is: do you need a will?

Short answer is….yeah probably….it can’t hurt.

The nice thing about deciding to make your own living trust is that it can help distribute the assets that AREN’T EVEN INCLUDED in the living trust.

Pretty cool, huh?

So if you haven’t made a living trust yet..well…what the hell are you waiting for?

You want to avoid probate. It’s expensive–much of the value of an estate for your beneficiaries can be lost in probate costs and attorney fees–and it can be time-consuming.

How time-consuming?

Try 6 months to 2 years for the average case in probate administration.

So what do you to avoid probate?

Simple: you convert your assets into non-probate assets.

The easiest way to do this is with a living trust–that way all your assets are transferred, with beneficiaries established, without anybody going to probate.

What kind of trust to avoid probate?

I would generally recommend a revocable living trust. Now ordinarily you know I’m all about you taking steps to make your own living trust.

But if you’re worried about probate, or have quite a few beneficiaries, it can be a good idea to talk to your lawyer to get their take on things.
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Think you don’t need to adjust your living trust in 2011. Think again?

As most people know 2010 has been a strange financial year. One of the oddities has been NO estate sales tax in 2010. (Morbid blogs have coined it as the “best year to die.”)

But the truth of the matter is that estate taxes will rise to 55 percent on Jan.1.

Now most people don’t think the million dollar exemption applies to them. But if you’re not sure what you estate is worth–you might be surprised.

million bucks might seem to be a huge exemption, but it’s not for many people, including those who did well in real estate despite the turbulent market, said Scott Golightly of the Golightly Law Firm plc.

The estates of those and others might be worth far more than $1 million, he said.

As Scott Golightly of the Golightly Law Firm plc recently told a Richmond, VA. newspaper:

“The biggest danger is that going back to a $1 million exemption is going to capture a lot of folks who may not have had to worry about death taxes in the 1990s,” he said.

So what do you do? Talk to an estate planner. And if you don’t have a living trust yet–be sure to start to make your own living trust so you don’t see your wealth. frittered away.

Looking to make your own living trust? Here is an easy to use pdf for understanding the different types of living trust, and which one is right for you.Make Your Own Living Trust FAQ – Revocable or Irrevocable

Turns out Gary Coleman’s death will be as difficult as his life.

The former start of “Diffrent Strokes” and perennial caution tale for how HOllywood can spit out its young talent left behind not just grieving fans–not to mention the fact you should make your own living trust–but a seriously screwed up estate.

Turns out the woman who turned off his life support was not his wife, but his ex-wife–they divorced 2 years ago.

But how could that happen?

The beloved actor never set up an will or an estate or a living trust–or even declared who gets to handle the health care directive.

Update: Ex-wife and parents are fighting over where and when to have his funeral.

Moral: Get a living trust done, no matter how old you are. At the very least get a will and set up who will handle your affairs. Even former child actors have real people issues.

When you decide to make your own living trust you will encounter paperwork. (Trust me.)

One of the most common questions we get from regular folks who embark on irrevocable living trusts and revocable living trusts is…what do I put for a tax id.

Here is a general guideline:

Revocable Living Trust Tax ID Tip

• Because income derived from a revocable living trust is deemed by the IRS as taxable–generally the grantor can just use their social security number. (If it’s a joint trust between spouses–either spouse can use their number.)

Irrevocable Living Trust Tax ID Tip

• This is a little more complicated. Because an irrevocable trust is not grantor-owned–if created properly–it will have its own unique tax id. Here is a great IRS resource for finding whether you need a Tax id or not.