A Revocable Living Trust is a popular estate planning tool you can use as a substitute for a Will to determine who will get your property and how your estate will be administered when you die.

A revocable living trust is a popular estate planning tool you can use as a substitute for a Will to determine who will get your property and how your estate will be administered when you die. Most living trusts are “revocable” because you can change them or undo them as your circumstances or wishes change. Revocable living trusts are “living” because you make them during your lifetime. Us lawyers sometimes get fancy and call this an “inter vivos" trust, which is Latin for "during life."

REVOCABLE LIVING TRUSTS AVOID PROBATE. Most people use living trusts to avoid probate. Probate is the court-supervised process of wrapping up a person’s estate. Probate can be expensive, time consuming, and is often more of a burden than a help. Property left through a living trust can pass to beneficiaries without probate.

THE TRUST AGREEMENT. A trust agreement is a written document, signed by the trust maker, the trustee, and a notary. The document lists the property in the trust, names a trustee, and names who gets the property when the trust maker dies.

The trustee is the person who will take care of the property. While the trust maker is alive, the trust maker and the trustee are usually the same person, and then a successor trustee takes over after the trust maker’s death.

TRANSFERRING PROPERTY TO THE TRUST. After the trust agreement is signed, the trust maker must transfer any property they want covered by the trust into the trust. Titled property (like real estate) must be retitled in the name of the trust. This is usually not complicated or difficult, but it must be done correctly or the titled property could end up in probate.

REVOCABLE LIVING TRUSTS vs. WILLS. With both Wills and revocable living trusts you can:

* name beneficiaries for property

* leave property to young children, and

* revise your document as your circumstances or wishes change.

With a trust, not a Will, you can:

* avoid probate

* reduce the chance of a court dispute over your estate

* avoid a conservatorship or guardianship, and

* keep your document private after death.

If you would like to talk about creating a revocable living trust as a means of avoiding probate at your death, give us a call at 253.858.5434 to set up an appointment today. We represent clients throughout Washington and Idaho and are available to meet in person (with appropriate social distancing protocols in place), by phone, or via video conference.