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Wife and I are discussing (well she finally brought it back around) and we are wanting to roll all of our non firearm & NFA items into a trust.

This came about because she wanted to draw up a will, advanced directive etc. My thought is to bypass the will and go straight into a trust so we have her and I along with our youngest as the trustee who would be owner of trust if we pass along.

Planning on starting to look for attorneys who specialize in this starting next week and I'm curious before I jump headlong in if this will be what we are wanting.

We want the:
house, cars, bank accounts, retirements, life insurance and any other schedule A worthy assets to be owned by the trust.
Basically any personal assets we show as worthy of somebody trying to sue and take. (This is not because we are under threat of being sued, it's to keep assets we have worked our asses off safe and secure for our child(ren))

Thoughts?

And has anyone here done this. Do you regert it? Was it a worthwhile transition for accounts? Easy?

Anyone to recommend?
 
Make sure the firm you find understands the tax consequences. For example, once the trust owns the house (with consent to the transfer from the mortgage holder) the tax deduction for mortgage interest needs to be re-evaluated. In many cases the natural persons are renting from the trust and the trust is paying the mortgage. These situations get very complicated very quickly.
 
Make sure the firm you find understands the tax consequences. For example, once the trust owns the house (with consent to the transfer from the mortgage holder) the tax deduction for mortgage interest needs to be re-evaluated. In many cases the natural persons are renting from the trust and the trust is paying the mortgage. These situations get very complicated very quickly.
Good point. Instead of being my own grandpa, I'll be my own landlord.
 
My understanding is that you should have both, a trust for your major possessions (real estate, etc.), a will to direct the executor for things like "grandma's china set should go to aunt Wilma" - that kind of thing - like guardianship of children, etc.

Also, I believe, that generally, if a spouse is deceased before the surviving spouse, then the survivor automatically receives all possessions (unless maybe there is something you explicitly setup to override some portion of that).
 
My understanding is that you should have both, a trust for your major possessions (real estate, etc.), a will to direct the executor for things like "grandma's china set should go to aunt Wilma" - that kind of thing - like guardianship of children, etc.

Also, I believe, that generally, if a spouse is deceased before the surviving spouse, then the survivor automatically receives all possessions (unless maybe there is something you explicitly setup to override some portion of that).
Thank you. There probably will be a will at some point to state "all assets go to xyz" to avoid any confusion but I figured once a trust is setup the scraps can be left for the will.

This helps a lot too. Kind of finding out the order of operations on this.
 
We are planning to do the same thing.

Just now, we're in the process of dealing with my mother-in-law's estate. She and her husband had set up trusts, made wills, etc. Just having everything organized for their heirs has turned out to be a great gift to all of us.

It's not the cheapest thing in the world to have things set up and organized like this, but I definitely think it's worth the expense.
 
We are planning to do the same thing.

Just now, we're in the process of dealing with my mother-in-law's estate. She and her husband had set up trusts, made wills, etc. Just having everything organized for their heirs has turned out to be a great gift to all of us.

It's not the cheapest thing in the world to have things set up and organized like this, but I definitely think it's worth the expense.

This is good.
Was it easier with the trusts?

Wife and I are in late 30's so doing this now will be easier before life is too complicated down the road.
 
Did one for my mom and myself years ago. And I've been an executor of estates with a trust and without. Here are some general comments/thoughts...

Without a trust your Will will be required to go through probate...where the guberment will take 8-10% in "fees." Why on earth anyone would want to give the Gov anymore of their hard earned money is beyond me. A trust avoids probate. It's also one of the kindest things you can do for loved ones. Probate is a PITA and particularly when all you want to do is grieve your loss. Eliminating it makes their lives much easier. This is reason enough, in my opinion, to get a trust.

The going rate for a trust right now is around $1800...give or take....which may seem expensive. And as I said above, the cost of probate is around 8% give or take. So you can either pay the $1800 now...or you can go through probate later...which for most people ends up being a whole lot more expensive.

Generally speaking there are a number of other documents associated with a trust. They usually include things like a Power of Attorney, Durable Power Attorney for Healthcare and associated Hipaa releases and directives, etc., Most trusts will also include a Will. The will is like a "catch all" in case you overlook putting something in the trust. Note that retirement accounts generally don't go in the trust since they name beneficiaries anyway. But talk this over with your attorney.

Also note that once the trust is created, you have to "fund" it. This is the process of re-titling your assets in the name of the trust. And it's the place where the most problems occur because people often forget to change the assets over. It's a bit of a pain obviously but it's worth it. So don't forget to re-title your assets. This is also a reason to do a trust sooner in life rather than later. It's much easier to simply title things appropriately as you acquire them, rather than having to go back and change them.

The other key element of a trust is that it provides the opportunity for you to think about what your wishes are. Who do you want making decisions about your healthcare if you become incapacitated? And what are those wishes specifically? It's not exactly a fun topic but it's far better to decide this now when things are going well and you can articulate them, then it is to do it later when you maybe can't.

Absolutely do the trust. :)
 
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Nobody wants to do a trust because they don't want to spend the money.
My dad was in this one of work.
You'd be amazed at some of the estate tax bills the heirs get.
Up to 80% at times of all Dollars bad assets.
 
Make sure you understand the "Irrevocable" clause in a living trust. Once a spouse passes away, their will is locked up tight and can't be changed.
 

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