If You Have A Revocable Living Trust, Will Your Estate Go Through Probate?
The probate process can, and should, be avoided. And, with that in mind, the best way to bypass the probate process is to develop a good estate plan, as well as a good trust.
Going over how a revocable living trust affects probate, and speaking with a lawyer, will allow you, and your beneficiaries, to bypass probate.
What Is A Revocable Living Trust?
A revocable living trust is a trust that you can end, at any time. And, if you end your revocable living trust, you can regain the assets that the trust encompasses.
Just as an example, if you have a revocable living trust that includes jewelry, a car, and a computer, you can revoke that trust and have those assets put back into your name, at any time.
Other trusts – an irrevocable living trust, for example – do not allow you to revoke them at any time, which makes a revocable living trust one of the most flexible trusts you can develop.
What Are The Benefits Of A Revocable Living Trust?
A revocable living trust offers a wide variety of unique benefits. Some of the most notable, of these benefits, are as follows:
- You can bypass the probate process, with a revocable living trust, allowing you to protect your assets.
- You can revoke the trust at any time, allowing you to regain the assets you placed within it.
- You can modify the revocable living trust with ease, ensuring that it always satisfies your wishes.
Every single one of the above serves as a solid reason as to why developing a revocable living trust can be, and often is, a good idea.
Outside of the benefits outlined above, there is one thing to know about revocable living trusts: you still owe taxes on the assets within the trust since, technically, those assets are still yours.
If your assets are in an irrevocable living trust, then those assets belong to the trust, meaning that taxation is quite different.
Why Is Bypassing Probate A Good Idea?
Probate is a long, expensive process. And, if you can bypass probate, your beneficiaries will get their assets much faster, without needing to deal with as many court costs.
Some beneficiaries may be fine with waiting quite some time for their inheritance. But, they may not be as pleased with the fact that the court costs that arise from probate are often dealt with using the assets within the estate.
Just as an example, if there are cash assets your beneficiaries are meant to receive, those can be used to take care of the court costs that probate requires, meaning that your beneficiaries receive less than you intend to give them.
Outside of the above, probate can lead to litigation. This might mean a beneficiary contesting your will, disputing a trust, or filing other, related claims.
No matter the litigation that is filed, it will lengthen the probate process, cost more money, and make it more difficult for your estate planning wishes to be honored.
If you develop a trust that allows you to bypass probate – a revocable living trust, for example – then you, and your beneficiaries, will be able to avoid those challenges.
Speak With A Florida Estate Planning Lawyer
If you would like to avoid probate, you are going to need the help of an estate planning professional. Speak with a Florida estate planning lawyer at the Millhorn Elder Law Planning Group today and we will help you.
Sources:
law.cornell.edu/wex/revocable_living_trust
help.flcourts.gov/Other-Resources/Probate
