A living trust is a legal way that one person holds legal title to property belonging to another person in trust. This method is most commonly utilized to maintain privacy and avoid the expense and complications of probate.
Every living trust must contain these four elements:
- “Trustor” or “Grantor”: The creator of the trust
- “Trust Corpus”: Assets of the trust
- “Trustee”: The person who holds legal title to the property in the trust
- “Beneficiary”: The person for whom the trust was created
It is possible for the trustee and beneficiary to be one in the same person. A living will is revocable at any time.
One benefit of creating a living trust is that if you were to become unable to manage your own financial affairs because you have been deemed legally incompetent, then your loved ones may be able to avoid the hassle of petitioning the court for conservatorship over your assets if your assets are already in a living trust being managed by a trustee. Another benefit is that when you pass away, your designated trustee can transfer your assets without having to go through the probate process and without the delay of closing out the probate estate first.
When creating a living trust, you should still execute a will as a backup. Any properties not listed in the living trust will have to flow through the probate process.
Creating a living trust should be done with the guidance of a trust and estates attorney that is knowledgeable in Georgia’s probate and estate planning laws.
The above is for general information only. To discuss your estate planning needs, please contact estate planning attorney, Michael S. Burnett at 678-905-4450 Ext. 3. www.msb-law.com / MICHAEL S. BURNETT, LLC