Advantages:
- Avoids probate but not necessarily estate taxes
- Administers property in different states with one document
- Manages business and personal affairs during your life
- Manages assets if you become incapacitated
- Depending on state law, may protect separate assets in case of divorce
- Can pay medical and other bills and provide for scholarships
- Distributes assets faster to beneficiaries
- Provides privacy
Disadvantages:
- Expensive to draft
- Involves costs to update
- Expenses can outweigh benefits
- Not court-supervised
- To protect assets, the trust must be funded with them
- The need to update and fund the trust is ongoing
Lesson Contents
III. Power of Attorney: Planning for Incapacity
IV. Property Transfer: Documents and Legal Arrangements
VII. Personal Representative: To Carry Out Your Wishes
VIII. Gifting and Tax Strategies
- a. Types of Trusts: Testamentary and Living Trusts
- b. Advantages and Disadvantages of a Living Trust
- c. Is a Trust the Right Planning Device for You?
X. How to Hire and Work with an Attorney
Prepare Your Estate Plan belongs to a series called Legally Secure Your Financial Future. The series also includes information to help you organize important household papers and to communicate your health-care wishes.