Posted on January 05, 2017 in Estate Planning

Anyone who thinks about planning his or her estate will hear about "wills," "probate" and "living trusts." A will is a document that states where you want your property to go when you die. Probate is the court procedure that makes sure your will is valid and puts it into effect. But what is a "living trust?" To answer this, you need to know a little about "trusts" in general.

Trust are legal devices that let one person "own" property for the benefit of someone else. With a trust, a person can stop being the "owner" of property while still keeping control over it. A trust is created when someone (a "trustee") agrees to hold and manage property for the benefit of someone else, who may later get the property, or the income or benefits it generates. The person who receives these benefits is the "beneficiary."

A living trust is a special kind of trust which has many estate planning benefits. In a living trust, you can transfer property from yourself (as the full owner) to yourself in a new capacity, as "trustee." After this transfer, you still control the property. You receive the benefits of ownership while you are alive. When you die, a "successor" trustee (someone you selected) distributes the property to the people you chose. This takes place without the involvement of the probate court.

A living trust is created by a written trust document, written with a lawyer's help. Your lawyer can also help prepare other papers used to transfer property into the trust. You can place almost any type of property in it, including money, real estate, stocks, bonds and automobiles.

Use of living trusts has grown because for many people, they offer significant benefits. Here are some of the main ones.

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 Posted on January 05, 2017 in Estate Planning

Who will make medical decisions for you if you become so ill that you cannot communicate your wishes? What if the person selected chooses treatment you would not want? Fortunately, there are documents - called "advance directives" - you can prepare before a serious illness to help in situations like these.

An "advance directive" is a document that tells how you want medical decisions made if you ever become physically or mentally unable to make them yourself. The two most commonly prepared advance directives are a "living will" and a "durable power of attorney for health care." Here is a brief explanation of each.

• Living Will. A living will lets you specify the types of life-prolonging treatment you want - or do not want - in the event you were terminally ill. It is called a living will because it can take effect while you are alive.
• Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care. This lets you appoint someone (such as your spouse or child) to make your medical decisions if you cannot make them yourself..

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