Video Summary

How often should I change my trust?  Well, the first question is whether or not you have what they call a revocable trust, meaning a trust that you can amend (because if you have an irrevocable trust that means you cannot change it).  But let’s assume that you’re talking about a revocable trust.  If you reserve the right to amend the trust, I suggest that you review the provisions of your trust at least once a year, particularly the provisions that provide for who receives the assets at your death, and you should change it any time your circumstances change.

In the event that you lose one of the beneficiaries, you would want to consider who you would want to receive that beneficiary’s share.  If you have family problems or domestic problems, you may wish to also change your trust.  So, you change your trust just like you change a will—when your circumstances change.  The laws are changing now in the event of divorce.  Under a will scenario, an ex-spouse is automatically taken out of your will, so even if you left him or her everything, they would not inherit once you are divorced.

I believe that they’re working on trust legislation to provide the same thing in a trust document.  So, this would be another circumstance when you would want to review your estate plan.  Review not only your will or trust document but other documents, such as a living will, if you may not want your ex-spouse to make a decision on a life-or-death situations (such as discontinuing life support) or being named your healthcare surrogate or possibly a power of attorney, which particularly leading up to the divorce, could be particularly dangerous.

So, if you’re going through domestic problems, you may want to set up an appointment to discuss your estate plan and what you can and cannot change while you’re going through the divorce proceeding.  And certainly, after the divorce, you’ll want to review your documents.  If you have some questions about this or would like to set up an appointment to review your trust and talk about any change in circumstances, we’ll be happy to do so and prepare an amendment to your trust.  My phone number is (727) 847-2288.

Video Summary

What assets can you include in your trust?  Well, there are a precious few assets that I can think of that cannot be titled in your trust.  The only time that you would not be able to title an asset in a trust is if whoever is issuing a particular titled security or asset refuses to allow it to be titled in the name of the trust.  But, titling it in the name of the trust is really a misnomer.  You title trust assets in the name of the trustee rather than in the name of the trust.  So, assets would be titled as, “John Doe as Trustee of the John Doe Revocable Trust, dated October 24, 2011.”

You do not want to just title it as, “The John Doe Revocable Trust” or, “The John Doe Trust.”  Likewise, you don’t want to title your assets as, “John Doe as Trustee.”  The Florida statutes, as far as real property is concerned, states if you title assets as, “John Doe as Trustee,” they consider it individual asset.  The trust must be identified.  However, the assets should be titled in the name of the trustee of an identified trust.  The biggest problem with people setting up revocable trusts is that they don’t retitle their assets in their name as trustees under their trust.  So, they don’t get the benefit of the revocable trust, which is usually to avoid probate.

One other reason many people transfer their assets into a trust is that they believe it will protect those assets from creditors.  Your assets that you transfer into a revocable trust are not protected from your creditors.  If you set up an irrevocable trust, meaning a trust that cannot be changed, and you do not exercise control and dominion over those assets, then those assets could be protected from your creditors, provided that you’re not doing it for the purpose to evade your creditors.  So, if you’d like to set up an irrevocable trust or to fund your revocable trust, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.  I’ll be glad to assist you.  Thank you.

Video Summary

Should I have a revocable trust?  Well, many people contact me and ask about having a revocable trust prepared, and I always ask them, “Why do you want a trust?”  And the usual answer is, “Well, we wish to avoid probate.”  If you have a functional family wherein you’re still on your first marriage and you want your inheritance to simply go to your children, then I don’t usually recommend a revocable trust for the purposes of avoiding probate, since if you hold property as husband and wife then you avoid probate when the first person passes away.  If you’re by yourself, however, then you may want to consider drafting a revocable trust.

There are also other circumstances such as second marriages or if you have a child that has special needs that you need to set up a trust for.  Also, if you have a child that has a spending problem, cannot manage money, we can set up a trust to protect whatever inheritance you leave behind.  Also, something that we’re seeing more and more is grandparents want to provide for their grandchildren. Possibly their children already have enough money or they want to take care of their grandchildren, since they don’t know whether their children will be able to take care of the education of their grandchildren.  So there are any number of reasons to set up a revocable trust.

Whether you need a trust or not, or whether you should set one up depends upon your circumstances.  So if you’d like to come in and talk about setting up a revocable trust, give me a call at 727-847-2288.  Thank you.

Video Summary

You can set this trust up in your will and that’s called a testamentary trust for your grandchildren. Another way to do it is just set up a living trust, also called a revocable trust, and provide for your grandchildren in a revocable trust or your living trust. However, if it is for a very small amount you may want to consider setting up something on the Florida College Prepaid College Program and there is another way to set this up so the grandchildren receive the account when they are age 21 by setting up an account in your name as custodian under the uniform transfers to the minors act and the account is held until such time as the minor reaches the age of 21. And if you pass away they can petition to have another custodian appointed such as your child or you can put it in their parents name to hold for them until they are 21 years of age. If you would like to do a trust or some estate planning for your grandchildren give me a call at (727) 847-2288.

Video Summary

A Living Trust is a document signed during someone’s life that generally makes legal provision for the way his or her assets are to be used during the individual’s life time as well as for who is to receive those assets upon his or her death. A will, on the other hand, does not take effect until a person passes away. Either document can be modified at any time during the person’s lifetime. Many choose to set up a trust because it is not subject to the probate process after the individual’s death. It is also important to note there there are revocable and irrevocable trusts.