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Avoid Probate and Protect Your Loved Ones
When it comes to securing the future of your assets, estate planning is a process that requires careful consideration. One of the essential components of any comprehensive estate plan is a trust. Trusts offer unique control and protection over your assets, ensuring your assets are distributed in accordance with your wishes. This blog explores why having a trust is pivotal in estate planning, illuminating its benefits and significance.
Avoid Probate
One of the primary reasons to establish a trust as part of an estate plan is to avoid probate. Probate is a legal process during which a decedent’s estate is addressed and administered. Just as most legal processes, probate can be expensive, time-consuming, and public. As a result, many people prefer to protect their privacy and bypass it.
When assets are placed in a trust, they are technically owned by the trust, rather than the deceased, and are managed by a trustee. Therefore, upon death, these assets are directly passed through a well drafted trust onto the designated beneficiaries without going through the probate process. This swift distribution may reduce stress for your loved ones during an already challenging time, and often times ensures the privacy of your estate affairs.
Control Over Asset Distribution
Trusts also provide unparalleled control over how and when your assets are distributed after death. This feature may be particularly beneficial if the beneficiaries of the trust are minors or individuals who otherwise need help managing their inheritance responsibly. With a trust, you can specify terms which meet the needs of your family, such as requirements that the assets be distributed out at certain milestones like when a beneficiary reaches a particular age, graduates, or gets married. Thus, a trust in your estate plan provides you the peace of mind of knowing that your assets will be directed as you intended.
Creditor Protection
A trust has the ability to create creditor protection for your beneficiaries, so long as the assets remain inside the trust. This can protect your loved one’s inheritance from an ugly divorce, bankruptcy, or a lawsuit, helping to ensure that the funds are available when truly needed. In addition, certain trusts can help protect assets from your own creditors – including Medicaid – in order to better preserve those hard-earned assets for your loved ones.
Tax Advantages
Incorporating a trust in your estate plan can also yield significant tax benefits. Certain types of trusts can help reduce or even eliminate estate taxes for larger estates, which would therefore preserve more of your wealth for your intended beneficiaries. Furthermore, some trusts can help manage income tax and therefore can serve as strategic tools in estate planning, assisting in efficient tax management and wealth preservation.
Work With Cleveland Estate Planning Attorneys
Estate planning can be complex, but with Laubacher & Co. by your side, you can rest assured knowing that a clear, comprehensive path to a well-crafted estate plan is easily accessible.
Learn more about trusts and estate planning or schedule a consultation by calling (440) 336-8687 or visiting our website