Estate Planning: Trusts

Trusts are a valuable, flexible estate planning tool. Unlike a will, a trust can help you protect your assets and be used for Medicaid planning during your lifetime. At the law firm of Allender & Allender, our attorneys can help determine whether the establishment of a trust makes sense for your estate plan. To schedule an initial consultation, call our main office in Titusville at 321-529-2448.

Revocable Living Trusts

A revocable living trust can help you manage your assets during your lifetime and also serve to distribute any remaining assets after your death. The person who creates the trust is called the “grantor” while the person responsible for managing the trust’s assets is known as the “trustee.” Oftentimes, the grantor and the trustee are the same person. Because the trust is revocable, you can amend or revoke the trust at any time.

Once a revocable living trust has been created, your assets, such as bank accounts, real estate and investments should be transferred to the trust to derive the most benefit. While this means the trust will effectively “own” those assets, if you name yourself as the trustee you can continue to manage the assets owned by the trust in much the same way you did before the trust was created.

Irrevocable Trusts

An irrevocable trust is a trust that cannot be modified or terminated without the permission of the beneficiary. Once assets have been transferred to the trust, the grantor effectively removes all of his or her rights of ownership.

The main reason for setting up an irrevocable trust is for Medicaid planning, as well as for estate and tax considerations. The benefit of this type of trust is that it removes all incidents of ownership, effectively removing the trust’s assets from the grantor’s taxable estate. The assets held in the trust may include business interests, investment assets, cash and life insurance policies.

Contact Our Estate Planning Lawyers To Learn More

To find out if establishing a trust is right for you, speak with us. Call 321-529-2448 or contact us online. With offices in Titusville, Cocoa Beach and Oviedo, we serve clients across central Florida.