What Are The Benefits Of A Revocable Trust?

One of the most popular benefits of a revocable trust is that your family and your assets will not be subject to probate when you pass away. In Oklahoma, for example, a typical uncontested probate will cost your estate between 5% and 10% of its total value in probate expenses. You can save almost all of that cost by avoiding probate through the use of a revocable trust. Another important benefit of a revocable trust is that it will often eliminate the necessity of a guardianship, even if you become incapacitated. This is because you will have already given people the authority to manage your affairs. If your attorney is doing his or her job well, you will have appointed someone to manage your financial affairs and someone to manage your medical affairs, if you’re unable to do so yourself.

Who Owns The Property In A Revocable Trust?

People who create a trust are known as trustors. The trustors can generally retain the right to revoke a trust in full or in part and therefore, they are treated as having a full and complete ownership of all of the assets in a revocable trust. This can be both good and bad. It is good because the trustors retain 100% flexibility in managing the assets. It can be bad in that none of the assets in the revocable trust have any protection from creditors or financial predators. To have such protection from creditors or predators, you will need to look into an irrevocable trust.

Which Assets Should Be Placed In My Revocable Trust?

You should place in a revocable trust the assets that you are not anticipating will need to be protected from the costs of nursing homes or from lawsuits in the future. In this trust, you will want to title assets that have a different source of asset protection or assets that you are willing to lose in the event that you lose a lawsuit or are forced to live in a medical care facility. Such assets could be real estate, financial accounts, or life insurance.

Is A Living Trust The Same As A Revocable Trust?

Living trust, revocable trust, and revocable living trust all have the same meaning. These are trusts that the trustors can change, as long as they are alive and in their right mind. This type of trust is the most flexible trust available but it offers no asset protection.

Should I Put My Home In A Revocable Trust?

Most people should put their homes in a revocable trust. When we have reason to believe that one of a married couple will be headed into long-term nursing home care in the foreseeable future, we may not put the homestead into a revocable trust until after the owner who is headed into long-term care has been approved for Medicaid. The transfer of your homestead into a revocable trust is a very good idea, as it will keep the house out of probate when the owners have passed away.

What Happens To My Revocable Trust At Death?

If you and your attorney have done a good job of preparing your revocable trust, you will have appointed successor trustees who will take over your trust and handle it as you have directed in the trust document. For example, you may have the trust remain in place and the assets therein used to care for your grandchildren until they reach a specified age. Or you may direct that your trustees deliver all the assets of your trust to your surviving child. In either event, the trustees are legally obligated to follow the terms of your trust to the best of their ability, given the constraints of the law and the constraints of the amount of money you have funded into the trust.

What Happens To A Revocable Trust When One Of A Married Couple Dies?

In some families, the trust will have a clause that allows the trust to continue and everything to remain fully in the control of the surviving spouse, when one spouse dies. In other families, we will be directed to leave one-half of the assets in control of the surviving spouse and the other half of the assets will be moved into an irrevocable trust for the benefit of the children or grandchildren. There is not a fixed or required method of managing a trust after death. As long as the husband and wife can agree, there is a great deal of flexibility in what happens to the trust assets after the first spouse dies.

For more information on Trusts In Oklahoma, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (405) 754-4166 today.

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