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A Living Trust

A living trust and a living will are two things that each and everyone should have made when in their life. Though these two documents are two important estate-planning documents, there are some differences between the two.

Differences between a living will and a living trust:

The living will is a document that states all your health care decisions that has to be made in case you are unavailable to make such decisions. This includes decisions relating to the type of treatment you would like to receive when ill, the organs you intend to donate on your death and the person you would like to designate to make all these important decisions of yours.

However, the living trust is a document that gives you the chance of managing your property in case you cannot make the corresponding decisions. The living trust designates the trustee you choose for handling all your assets if and when you die. The trustee can be anyone you want to trust; your family, friends, business colleague or spouse. The living will is set into effect when you are incapable to make decisions pertaining to your health. A living will is not allowed in all states. If you live in a state where the living will is not valid, you can make a living will using the help of a health care attorney, health care proxy or a Do Not Resuscitate order.

A living trust comes into effect when you die or if you are incapable to do so. Through a living trust, you transfer your property and assets to the trust, and name yourself as a trustee and someone else as a successor trustee. Moreover, you can revoke or amend the living trust at any time during your lifetime, as long as you are competent enough to do so.

A living will is a legal document you create by yourself, while the living trust is created between the person creating the trust and the person in charge of managing the assets, namely you, till you feel that you need some maintenance assistance. This trustee that you designate assumes responsibility for all your assets pays all the valid debts, claims and taxes of your death and distributes your assets as instructed in your living trust.

Enlist the help of a professional lawyer to create a living trust:

If you have a living trust made, the trust does not end up in the hands of the probate court. With this, the value and nature of your assets and all information of your beneficiaries doesn’t get disclosed to public. However, if you have a living trust, its existence should be made known to your heirs and beneficiaries.

It is always better to enlist the services of a qualified estate-planning lawyer when making your living trust. However, you will have to be ready to pay the lawyer’s charges for preparing your living trust. With the lawyer’s assistance, you are sure of creating the right living trust, without any flaws or loopholes.