Wanting to have your affairs in order to lessen stress on family members is an admirable desire. You know that, one day, you will no longer be around to address your loved ones’ concerns or to help them handle your remaining estate, so you want to leave instructions in your estate plan now.
Estate planning can be immensely useful. In particular, you may consider creating a living trust to address some of your affairs. If the idea of using a trust seems out of your comfort zone, some additional information on its uses may help.
How can a living trust benefit you?
First, a living trust is called such because you create it during your lifetime. You can create a revocable trust, which means you can change the terms and details, or an irrevocable trust, which means you cannot change it.
If you have specific goals you want to achieve, a trust can likely help you. For example, if you want to lessen the likelihood of your loved ones squabbling over your assets after your passing, contests over trusts tend to happen less often. Perhaps you want your loved ones to receive an inheritance in increments rather than all at once. A trust can help with that as well.
Setting up a trust
If you want to set up a living trust, you will need to take several steps, some of which include the following:
- Decide whether you want to use a revocable or irrevocable trust.
- Inventory your assets and decide which you want to include in the trust.
- Name the individuals or organizations you want to act as beneficiaries to your trust.
- Consider whom you want to act as the successor trustee after your passing.
- Think about appointing a manager to oversee the inheritances of any minor children.
- Move forward with creating a legally binding trust.
- Transfer ownership of the intended property to the trust.
Because setting up a trust that works best for you can be complicated, you may want to obtain help throughout the process. Fortunately, experienced attorneys are available to help you create a trust that suits your needs and desires, and that will comply with necessary Nevada laws. Going over your options and gaining more information may help you see even more benefits of adding a living trust to your estate plan.