Revocable Living Trust

A Revocable Living Trust is an estate planning document that allows you to place certain assets into a trust during your lifetime and establish instructions for how those assets are to be managed and distributed.

With a Revocable Living Trust, you generally retain control of the trust assets during your lifetime and can make changes to or revoke the trust as permitted by the terms of the trust. You can also designate the individuals or organizations you want to receive trust assets after your death.

A Revocable Living Trust typically identifies a trustee to manage the trust. In many cases, the person creating the trust—known as the grantor or trustor—also serves as the initial trustee, allowing them to continue managing their assets during their lifetime. A successor trustee can be named to step in and manage or distribute the trust assets according to the trust instructions if the original trustee becomes unable to serve or after the grantor's death.

One of the potential benefits of a properly funded Revocable Living Trust is that assets held in the trust may be able to pass to beneficiaries without going through probate, depending on the circumstances and applicable law. A trust can also provide a framework for managing trust assets if you become incapacitated.

Creating a trust is only one part of an estate plan. Assets generally need to be properly transferred or titled in the name of the trust for the trust to effectively control those assets. Other estate planning documents may also be appropriate depending on your circumstances.

Plan for today. Prepare for tomorrow. Put your wishes in place.