But transferring what we owned in life to our surviving kin in death is easier said than done. We cannot hold onto much of what we own after we die. Condos and homes aren’t the property of the dead, and beyond what we literally take into the grave, every material possession under our name must
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To understand how a trust should be built, you need to first understand what a living trust is, how funding a trust works, and why it’s important. A trust is only worth what you fund it with – so if you decide against funding a trust, it is effectively useless. Learn more about funding
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The trust litigation process is reserved for cases where the integrity of trust is in question. Like other examples of litigation, trust litigation requires thorough research and a lengthy, at times expensive discovery process to prove ill intent or wrongdoing and justify damages or some other compensation for the petitioner. There are times when trust
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A living trust is a unique estate planning tool because it effectively transfers ownership over specified assets and property to someone else through a third party, while giving the original owner a varying degree of control while the assets remain in the third party’s care. This is important in the context of estate planning at
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You have gone through the steps, talked things through with an estate planning professional, and have signed off on the final draft of your living trust. You have registered it at your local notary, amended the paperwork on all relevant possessions to reflect your new trust, and are working closely with your trustee to make
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A trust can be an excellent estate planning tool, passing assets to loved ones while avoiding the probate process, and potentially eliminating the need to pay an estate tax (when implemented correctly). But there is far more nuance to a trust than most might guess, and there is far more to implementing a revocable vs
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In estate planning terms, a trust is both an agreement and an entity, created for the purpose of holding assets and accounts ‘in trust’ until they are ready to be distributed to designated beneficiaries. Trusts must be ‘funded’, which involves amending the assets mentioned within the trust document to reflect that they are now part
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For some reason, there is some misconception about the role that living trusts play in the taxation of estates, and taxes in general. While some living trusts can provide certain tax benefits, it is important to distinctly note that they do not outright avoid taxes. Taxes are still an important consideration for any living trust,
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While estate and living trust gifting is often put off because of the uncomfortable topic of death, it is one of the most significant gifts you will ever leave behind. Estate planning is about more than just protecting your own legacy – through a well-constructed and expertly crafted estate plan, you will have the
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Retirement accounts can be a great way to ensure that you have a robust nest egg as you age, and if you happen to pass away with something left on the account, it will go to your loved ones. But which ones? That’s where assigning a retirement beneficiary to your various assets and accounts becomes
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