A Will does Not avoid Probate: Time to Upgrade to a Trust
By Sarah Siedentopf
Planning for vacations is always more fun than planning for your family and legacy, but please don’t neglect the latter. Lack of planning can create a mess for you and for those you love. Probate has become an increasing frustration and burden in the recent months due to courts which are overwhelmed, understaffed, and trying to work around restrictions on in person contact.
One particularly popular planning option even if you have a Will is a revocable grantor trust. These types of trusts are popular for good reason. The two top reasons that you should consider these trusts are to set up someone to help out during your lifetime and to make sure your family doesn’t have to go through probate after you’ve passed away.
Revocable grantor trusts allow the trustee to manage all trust property for the benefit of the beneficiary. Most of the time when we set the trust up, the person setting up the trust will be both the initial trustee and the initial beneficiary, i.e., they continue to manage their own assets and spend them on themselves. Trusts are all about planning ahead though, so they provide for backup trustees and plan for what happens when someone is no longer able to handle their own affairs. This type of planning allows you to choose who should be in charge of your assets when you can no longer do things yourself (the choices for who this can run the gamut from family members to paid professionals), and lets them seamlessly takeover. This can be a welcome shift in responsibility and enhance the quality of life for seniors.
Unlike wills, which are helpful for guiding an estate through probate but don’t avoid it, trusts allow the assets in them to completely skip probate. Whoever you have chosen as your trusted person will be able to wrap up your affairs and distribute assets to your loved ones without the requirement of filing a probate petition with the court or following the probate procedures.
For further information on this topic: Read HERE for suggestions on improving your quality of life and peace of mind with a trust. You can also contact me directly for scheduling time for a call. www.EstateLawAtlanta.com
| Siedentopf Law | Wills, Trusts & Probate Druid Chase 2801 Buford Hwy NE, Suite 510, Atlanta, Georgia 30329 Mailing Address: 2480 Briarcliff Road Ne, Suite 6-345, Atlanta, Georgia 30329 Tel: (404)736-6066 | Fax: (404)736-6057 |