Explaining the Law, Empowering You

Overview

You can use a Revocable Living Trust to provide for the transfer of your assets to named beneficiaries after you die in a manner that avoids probate. You can also use it to provide for the management of property left to young beneficiaries.

If you allow your assets to go through probate, they are likely to be unavailable to your family and other potential beneficiaries until the probate of your estate is complete. This usually takes several months but can sometimes take years if your estate is complex.

This Revocable Living Trust is for a married couple with combined assets worth less than the current federal estate tax exemption threshold.

This Revocable Living Trust allows a husband and wife (or registered domestic partners) to transfer assets into the trust and to each stipulate how their assets are to be divided following their deaths. In many cases, one spouse transfers their assets to the other. However, this is not compulsory. Each spouse is free to decide how he or she wishes to gift the assets that he or she transferred into the trust. In much the same way as with a will, each spouse can make both specific gifts of trust assets (such as gifts of cash or specific objects) as well as a gift of their residuary trust estate. A husband’s trust estate, for example, includes all assets properly transferred by the husband to the trust plus his share of any joint assets transferred to the trust. The husband’s residuary trust estate is that part of the husband’s trust estate that is remaining after all his specific gifts have been made and all the debts and taxes owing by him at the time of his death discharged. The same applies to the wife’s trust estate.

This Revocable Living Trust is a downloadable form. It comes complete with guidance instructions on how to fill in the form as well as a variety of sample clauses including UTMA custodianship and child trust provisions.

If you are not completely familiar with Revocable Living Trusts, we recommend that you purchase our book entitled “Make Your Own Living Trust and Avoid Probate”. This book not only contains all the forms you will need to make your own living trust but also gives you a detailed explanation of living trusts and how they work.

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