THE LIVING TRUST REVOLUTION

     There is a new revolution accelerating across America. It is a revolution to protect ourselves and the well-being of our families against probate, taxes, creditors, business failure, lawsuits and other occurrences that impact our daily lives. It is a revolution that focuses on putting our goals, fears, dreams, and concerns for our families ahead of our personal aspirations by protecting all we have dreamed, believed in and acquired utilizing the most effective estate planning tool. It is the “Living Trust Revolution.”

Don’t Wait

     The term “Living Trust” may be new to many. Think of it as a method of providing for ourselves and our loved ones in the event of incapacity or death. How will we manage all that we have worked for and saved in the event of incapacity; and how will we pass our legacies - our assets- to our heirs in the event of our passing. If we wait until incapacity or death, our legacy may dissipate quickly causing financial impact, grief, burden and disappointment for you and those you love and care about most.

     During the next 5 to 10 years, trillions of dollars will be passed from one generation to the next as a result of the baby-boomer tidal wave of wealth that has transformed the face of everything in its wake. This baby boomer generation has become the largest group of retiring class in the history of our nation. The baby boomers are realizing more and more that in order to solidify their goals, overcome their fears, pass on their dreams and to alleviate their concerns for themselves and their loved ones, estate planning is as essential as owning a car, a television or a computer.

Avoid The Turmoil

     Much turmoil has led to the revolution. For example, what is the possibility of future disability, failed marriage or remarriage, a business recession, lawsuits, creditors’ claims or bankruptcy? Do you want the inheritance you leave to your loved ones decimated by legal expenses for a living probate, taken by a step-parent if your spouse remarries, or going to your daughter-in-law or son-in-law or seized by creditors. And how do you plan if you have a blended family with children of either or both spouses from previous marriages. Or what if there is a wide age range between your children? How can you give the same benefits to a younger child that you gave to an older child for educational costs, health care, etc. without short changing the younger child’s inheritance or without denying the older child full use of his or her inheritance while the younger child is growing up? There are hundreds of additional issues like these that can and should be addressed through effective estate planning.

     More and more people are attending seminars or reading books on the subject of estate planning and the benefits it can provide in the form of probate avoidance and death tax elimination. Although those are excellent objectives, they represent but the tip of the iceberg of what estate planning can actually do for you or your family with careful guidance and preparation.

The “Will” and “Intestacy”

     Traditional or basic estate includes doing nothing at all or preparing a “Will”. Without a “Will” the state intercedes with an “Intestate” proceeding to manage your estate following your death. In both cases, the roadblock known as “Probate” will result in excessive court and attorney costs, emotional hardship on your intended beneficiaries, impacts on the lives of minor children and more. It is a public process which allows anyone to review the probate records, such as creditors, solicitors and distant heirs, to make claims against your estate. Furthermore, it is a lengthy process which often takes 9 months to 2 years to resolve.

The “Living Trust”

     It is not about how much you give, it is about the care you put in to it. This is what trust planning is all about and why more and more people are learning about the “Living Trust”’ It is revolutionizing the way people plan their estates. A “Living Trust” takes more time and is more complex than a “Will” but the people now realize that it is worth it and their families are worth it, too!

     With a “Living Trust” the roadblocks can be eliminated. Think of a “Living Trust” as a “Will” attached to a rainbow that begins with you, passes over the roadblocks, and leaves your loved ones with your pot of gold distributed how you wish, when you wish and to whom you wish. This is the thrust that has caused the “Living Trust Revolution.”

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