Have you contemplated the benefits of using a living trust in the past? Many people are under the false impression that a living trust can accomplish everything. While it’s not true that a living trust will be the only estate planning document that you need or that it will accomplish every single one of your goals, it can be a powerful asset to have in your corner. 
There are several different things that a living trust can do when it is properly drafted by a knowledgeable lawyer and when you have funded it appropriately. First of all, a trust can provide for estate tax savings, especially if you are married.
A trust can also hold money for your minor children until they are responsible enough to manage the money themselves. You may even be concerned about a child that you have who is of the age to be responsible enough to manage money, but due to an alcohol or drug abuse issue, cannot be trusted.
A trustee can be empowered to make decisions and distributions on behalf of the beneficiary over the course of that beneficiary’s life. Another common concern for people putting together a living trust is keeping those assets in the family. You might be concerned that the gift of certain assets could expose your beneficiaries to losing them in a divorce.
Having a trust is one great way to guard against this. Another major reason of using a living trust is that even if a will can accomplish some of the basic aspects of what is happening in a trust, such as passing on assets to your beneficiaries, avoiding probate usually requires a living trust. You would transfer ownership of your assets from yourself to the living trust, meaning that your family gets additional privacy and avoids the hassle of going through the probate process.
There are many different reasons that you might consider developing a living trust, but all of these require having an attorney who is experienced and cares about doing everything possible to protect you and your loved ones for many years into the future.
