Living trust is a written legal document through which your assets and properties are placed into a trust for your benefit, assets protections and also for transfer to designated beneficiaries of the estate at your death. Living trust are essential when planning your estate. Through trust, you can have anyone whom you solely desire manage and make financial decisions over your assets both while you are alive or dead as well as when you become mentally incapacitated.
Living trust also forms the bases of how your estates are shared or given to beneficiaries in Long Island. Having a legal document like the living trust that details what should happen to your estate upon your demise would ensures that your final wishes are met Making a decision between a Trust and a Will comes down to personal decisions on your estate plan. There are various types of trust, but majorly the irrevocable and revocable living trust, other types of trust are the special need trust or the spendthrift trust. These two however can still be placed into the irrevocable and revocable trust.
Why you should transfer your real estate into a trust
To avoid Probate when transferring assets to desired beneficiaries
One of the benefits of living trust in Long Island is that it avoids probate even while a valid and clearly written will still go through a court proceeding for your assets to be distributed to the beneficiaries according to your wishes. A revocable living trust doesn’t require probate because the assets has been placed into the trust before the death of the trust maker. Once the assets has been transferred into the trust they will not be considered part of your estate and will not be subject to probate.
With probate eliminated, distribution of your assets and implementation of the trust would take lesser time. Also, with a living trust, your wishes would be effectively carried out without contest from any party. A will on the other hand may still be contested by any party or affecting individual.
You real estate would be secured and protected at all time
Once you transfer your real estate into a trust, it would be secured because you would be able to control what happens to your estate both while you are alive or dead. You can easily assign a trustee whom you believe can step in and make proper financial decisions over your estate when you are unable to do so. Also, if you have named yourself as the trustee on your living trust, you control the estate.
Will there be any inconveniences placing your real estate into a trust?
In most cases, you will notice little difference. You may even find it easy to transfer real estate on you own to your living trust, and to purchase new real estate in the name of your trust.
Because your living trust is revocable, transferring real estate to your trust would not disturb your current mortgage in any way. Even if the mortgage contains a “due on sale or transfer” clause, retitling the property in the name of your trust should not activate the clause. There should be no effect on your property taxes because the transfer does not cause your property to be reappraised.
How difficult is the process of funding or transferring your real estate to a trust?
It’s not difficult, but it will take some time. Some institutions will require that you proof the existence of your trust. To satisfy them, your attorney will prepare what is often called a certificate of trust. This is a shortened version of your trust that verifies your trust’s existence. It explains the powers given to the trustee and identifies the trustees, but it does not reveal any information about your assets, your beneficiaries and their inheritances.
Living trust is different from a will
A living trust is different from will. This distinction can be seen in the way each documents are executed and their benefits. Living trust are legal documents through which you place your assets for protection and also easy transfer of estate to appointed beneficiary called the successor trustee. A will however, is a written legal documents with a plan to distribute your assets upon your death. A named executor as documented in the will oversee this process of reading and implementing the will.
While the living trust can be executed anytime the trust has been funded, the will only takes effect until after your death.
