Living Trust

You usually hear people say that living trust wills are important to protect one's assets and properties. However, it is really a misnomer because a living trust and a will are two separate agreements. Although they may be similar in nature, they both have different characteristics.

There is also such a thing as a living will, but it also has a different process from a living trust and a will.

A will is a legal document initiated by a person that will determine the disposition of that person's estate - assets and properties - in the event of death to specific beneficiaries of his choice, be it family members or institutions, or whatever the person desires.

A living trust on the other hand, is an agreement entered into by a person known as the grantor, who conveys his estate to a trustee who will be in control of the trust during his lifetime for his benefit and in the event of death, may be able to distribute the estate to any beneficiary at the express desire of the grantor under the administration of a trustee named by the grantor in his living trust agreement.

A living will, moreover, is the consent or decision of the person to be kept alive if seriously injured or terminally ill, but we will just lay that one aside since it follows a different path from a living trust or will or the supposed 'living trust wills.'

All the same, the aforementioned agreements are all legal processes that require careful attention and all factors must first be considered before taking that big step of initiating either a living trust or will, not just jump in to have your 'living trust wills' at any given time.

For starters, a living trust will become a legal document - as does a will - the moment it is finalized, signed and passed as a binding agreement that will explicitly implement your desires to the letter, subject to existing laws and regulations, until it is revoked or cancelled.

During the drafting process, the living trust will have to pass requirements set forth by existing laws and statutes. The same goes with the preparation of a will, and this will is where the role of an estate planning expert or attorney comes in.

Estate planning lawyers, as long as they have done they homework with regards to the aspect of living trusts and wills, are the best sources of information regarding these arrangements, especially since most of the processes involved would require legal advice and technical procedures, as regulations governing living trust and will may vary from state to state.

Nonetheless, they may be able to give good advice on the right path to take and definitely may be able to tell you the differences of both processes from 'living trust wills'.

One important thing to consider, though, is that getting a good picture and idea about what living trust wills or living trusts AND wills are about, allows one to avoid becoming victims of scams that are currently preying on unwary individuals, especially the elderly who are the most susceptible targets for such scams, for fear that their assets and properties may be garnished by the government or other institutions for lack of a valid estate planning tool.

Here are some common scams that to help keep you wary of unscrupulous predators.

Be cautious of living trust promoters who usually advertise pre-printed living trust forms or 'living trust wills'. These self-processing living trust kits are based on a generic format and are generally not patterned to suit individual preferences and needs. There may be a few good ones in the market or online, but the best way is to have a customized format that will suit your needs and requirements. A good and experienced estate planning attorney can help you with that.

Also be wary of those that make living trust or wills as an excuse to gather information from a prospect and offer other products like life insurance or other 'pre-need' annuities.

Other warning signs to also watch out for are salespeople claiming to be attorneys, misrepresentations about living trusts can totally avoid taxes, high-pressure and irresistibly low cost offers or claim that creditors cannot go after an estate covered in a living trust agreement.

Should any of these questionable deals come your way, make sure to inform the proper authorities and avoid falling prey to these scams.

Hopefully, by now, you may be able to differentiate living trust wills from a living trust and a will, surely this will save you from headaches and other problems in the future.

Wills And Living Trusts |