Revocable Living Trust

grandfather needs revocacable trust
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A Revocable Living Trust is a flexible estate-planning document that allows you to maintain control of your assets during your lifetime and direct how those assets will be managed and distributed if you become incapacitated or after your death.

While you are able, you will generally serve as your own trustee and may amend or revoke the trust at any time. You will also name a successor trustee to manage the assets held in the trust if you become unable to do so and to distribute those assets according to your instructions following your death.

When properly created and funded, a Revocable Living Trust can allow trust assets to pass to your beneficiaries without probate, providing greater privacy and often reducing the time and expense associated with court administration. A trust can also include detailed instructions for minor children, beneficiaries with special needs, pets, charitable gifts, and the management of inheritances over time.

Importantly, a successor trustee’s authority is generally limited to assets held in the trust. Health-care decisions are addressed through an Advance Health Care Directive, while financial and legal matters involving assets outside the trust may be addressed through a Durable Power of Attorney.

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Frequently Asked Questions

A Revocable Living Trust is a legal document through which you may hold and manage assets during your lifetime and direct how those assets will be managed if you become incapacitated or distributed after your death. In most cases, you serve as your own trustee while you are able and name a successor trustee to act when you can no longer do so or after your death.

Generally, no. While you are living and have capacity, you will ordinarily serve as trustee and retain control over the trust assets. You may generally buy, sell, spend, or manage those assets as you did before and may amend or revoke the trust at any time.

Assets properly transferred into a Revocable Living Trust during your lifetime can generally be administered without a formal probate proceeding. However, simply signing a trust does not automatically avoid probate. Your assets must be reviewed and, when appropriate, properly titled in the name of the trust.

Funding a trust means transferring ownership of appropriate assets into the trust or otherwise arranging for those assets to pass according to the estate plan. This may involve changing title to real property or financial accounts and reviewing beneficiary designations. A trust that has been signed but never properly funded may not accomplish its intended purpose.

A successor trustee manages the assets held in the trust if the original trustee becomes unable to serve or dies. Depending upon the circumstances, the successor trustee may pay expenses, manage or sell property, communicate with financial institutions, address taxes and debts, and distribute trust assets to the beneficiaries according to the trust’s instructions.

Yes. A trust can provide detailed instructions about how and when a beneficiary receives an inheritance. Rather than requiring an outright distribution at age 18, the trust may allow assets to remain under a trustee’s management until the child reaches specified ages or milestones. It may also authorize distributions for education, health, housing, support, and other needs.

Yes, but special care must be taken. An outright inheritance may interfere with a beneficiary’s eligibility for certain needs-based public benefits. A properly drafted Special Needs Trust may allow assets to be used to enhance the beneficiary’s quality of life while helping preserve eligibility for programs such as Supplemental Security Income or Medi-Cal.