Five Advantages of Establishing a Living Trust in Virginia Beach
Living trusts are an estate planning tool that provide several advantages over wills. In this article, the Law Office of Angela N. Manz will discuss the top five advantages of living trusts and how they work to protect your assets and safeguard your legacy.
#1. Avoiding probate
When you die with a will, your assets pass through probate. The first thing that the probate court does is contact your creditors so that they can be repaid. Your family gets whatever is left over from that process. Trusts can avoid probate. Avoiding probate is good for two reasons. Firstly, it makes it much more difficult for creditors to access your assets. Second, since probate is a public process, it’s a matter of public information. Trusts can be used to safeguard your privacy.
#2. Medicaid protection
Do you want to protect your assets from nursing homes? You can do so with a Medicaid trust. Those who would otherwise not qualify for Medicaid because they have too many assets can transfer their assets out of their estate using an irrevocable living trust. Since the assets are no longer a part of your estate, they are not counted as income or holdings. If you transfer enough assets out of your estate, you can qualify for Medicaid. The Law Office of Angela N. Manz specializes in Medicaid trusts for those who need long-term care.
#3. It’s better for your family
Living trusts have clear directives that mitigate potential conflicts caused by wills and probate. They can also help preserve family relationships by avoiding potential conflict. Assets from your living trust will be distributed directly to heirs. Heirs inherit directly from the living trust. This avoids the court process entirely meaning your heirs will get their inheritance faster and with less acrimony.
#4. You maintain control of your assets
Once you create a revocable living trust, you retain control over your assets during your lifetime and after. The trust is basically a container for valuable assets. You can determine what happens to these assets in the trust. With a revocable living trust, you retain control over all the assets placed in the trust.
#5. Confidentiality guarantee
Living trusts maintain your privacy, unlike probate proceedings. Anything that passes through probate is a matter of public record. That means that the public would have access to your financial matters once your estate is processed by the court. The same is not true of living trusts. Living trusts distribute assets directly to your heirs, and avoid probate and public scrutiny at the same time.
Talk to a Virginia Beach Estate Planning Attorney Today
The Law Office of Angela N. Manz represents the interests of those who are attempting to construct an estate plan. It’s important to revisit your estate plan every so often, especially after a major life event. Call our Virginia Beach estate planning lawyers today to schedule a consultation, and we can begin creating your estate plan right away.
