Many people are under the misconception that trusts are just for the rich. But here in Louisiana, a good estate planning attorney can tell you that they’re a highly practical tool for everyone.
From an Estate Planning Attorney: Why Living Trusts Are for Everyone
What Is It?
A living trust is a legal entity that you set up. You place some of your assets into this trust while you’re still alive. Once you do, those assets belong to the trust rather than to you personally, but you are the trustee. That means you still manage the assets just as if they were still part of your estate, but when you pass away, the assets go right to your beneficiaries without having to go through the courts like the rest of your estate.
Because you’re avoiding the court process, you don’t have all the delays that can potentially hang up your assets for months or even years before your beneficiaries actually get to benefit from them. Your family doesn’t have to deal with everything becoming public record or paying high legal fees, either. This is especially important if you should pass away while your children are still young. A living trust would ensure that the funds set aside for their care get to them and their guardian immediately.
Benefits for Working Families
If you’re like most working families, you’re juggling the kids’ activities and jobs, paying the bills, keeping up with the house, and a lot more. Now imagine your family trying to take care of all of that without your support, financial or otherwise. A living trust can’t heal the grief of loss, of course, but it can make the practical issues surrounding that loss as easy to manage as possible.
Another benefit to a trust is you can be specific about how the assets are spent. For example, you can only allow certain money to go towards your children’s education or release it to be spent on their living expenses only in stages rather than all at once. A living trust can be helpful even if you don’t pass away. When you set up your trust, you will name a successor trustee. This could be your spouse or another trusted relative, or it could be a legal professional, but the point is that if you should become incapacitated, your successor trustee would take over so bills keep getting paid and decisions keep being made.
Living Trusts Under Louisiana Law
Living trusts are useful for families anywhere in the USA, but Louisiana’s legal system has a few unique rules. It’s best to work with a legal professional who has experience here in our state. For example, one important aspect of Louisiana family law is forced heirship, which controls some of what you can do with your estate. You can’t just ignore this rule even with a living trust, but with an experienced local lawyer, you can structure a trust in such a way that it protects both your assets and your children as completely as possible while still following the law.
For personalized help from a professional with extensive experience in Louisiana family law, contact Walter D. White, A Professional Law Corporation, today.