Living Trust Forms

The internet offers something for everybody. Entertainment, information, something to sell, something to buy, it is all there and readily available at the click or two of a mouse. Did you know that even if you are taking stock of your financial affairs in anticipation of your forthcoming retirement, or thinking of taking the preliminary steps of preparing a last will and testament to take care of your loved ones after you have gone, then all the background information and advice on every aspect of estate planning is waiting there for you. If you feel adventurous you can even download any of the forms that you need to prepare a living will. These forms are generic and can be purchased at a very low cost, based on the state where you live.

With recent changes in legislation, the possibility of falling into the threshold of being liable to pay estate taxes has become a reality for more and more people throughout the United States. The complexities involved and the many possible pitfalls that can amount in considerable aggravation, expense and time, should preclude many people from preparing their own will. However if your estate is minimal and you do not have any funds to appoint an estate planner, then these simple forms are a viable alternative, and certainly infinitely better than not preparing a will at all.

  • If you succeed in preparing your own will, in any event, you should consult a notary public who will act as executor of your will when you pass away. The costs will be minimal and will be deducted from the value of your estate.

  • If you suffer some form of health breakdown and are not capable of making decisions or conveying instructions due to incapacity, you will also require the services of an executor to carry out your requests.

  • If you estate is sufficiently large, you may be liable to pay estate taxes, you should never consider drawing up your trust fund, and instead acquire the services of a licensed solicitor and estate planner.

Once you have targeted an estate planner that appears to fit into your budget plans, you should ask for a free consultation. If they agree (which they should do) then go there with as much information that you can. On the value of your estate, on how you wish it to be set out and who you would want your benefactors to be. This information, properly presented, will save the estate planner a lot of time, and save you a lot of money. All the expense involved in establishing and maintaining a living trust need to be paid from the estate's income while you are alive. However they may well be less than the cost of probate fees, which will be deducted from the estate.

If you wish to save further costs after the estate trust has been established, you can act as your own trustee, however the establishment of the trust should be left to experts. Anything else would be an example of the falsest form of economy.

The main aspect of establishing a trust fund is to avoid the necessity of paying estate taxes and this should never be forgotten. The sums saved will be truly considerable and costs incurred will fade into insignificance when compared against them. Once the trust is up and running, if you have set it up in a revocable format, you can increase or decrease the value of the trust's assets. However any assets that have not been deposited in the fund on the day of passing, may be liable to have estate tax paid on them, and will certainly be tied up in probate.