The long answer is that a revocable trust, the most commonly created trust, also known as a Revocable Living Trust, allows its owner to changes any of the terms at any time, including successor trustee(s), beneficiaries, what property is in the trust and what is not. The important thing to remember is to always be sure and update your trust whenever you sell a house, car (if it’s listed in the trust), any jewelry, art work, etc., in short, anything of value that you want to be sure gets transferred to your heirs tax-free, rather than become a “hostage” of probate.

An irrevocable trust is often used by individuals who wish to provide heirs with income during their lifetime while giving it to charity after the demise of the heirs, again created to avoid hefty estate taxes. Irrevocable trust are best explained and addressed in consultation with your attorney due to the complications and many loopholes and various ways and means of creating them.

For example, if you bought a house just before you passed away and have not yet had the chance to deed it to your Living Trust, the Pour-Over Will allows for the house to be transferred to the trust same as if you’d done it while alive.

If you don’t have a Pour-Over Will, that house that has not yet been transferred to your Living Trust or not in a Joint Tenancy (such as if you own a property with your spouse) will go through probate and be bequeathed to your closest heirs in the manner determined by state law in your state of residence – which is why we provide you with a Pour-Over Will.

2) Your second option is to create the trust but not fund it, meaning, not transfer anything into it during your lifetime. Upon your demise, all your assets will be transferred into your trust via your Pour-Over-Will through Probate (it’s included in our complete Living Trust Package).

Your alternate trustee does not have to approach the court to start managing your financial affairs as the trust allows for this individual to simply do so. With no alternate trustee assigned, the court would have to be approached (by your family). The court would in all likelihood appoint a conservator to manage your financial affairs. This can be costly and time consuming. For this reason, we recommend you name an alternate trustee in your trust.

It’s wise to appoint an alternate agent in the event that the person you named as your primary Health Care Agent is not available when it comes time to make any decisions. Needless to say, you should have the same discussion with this alternate agent that you’ll have with the primary agent.

The short answer is, NO! This would be considered a conflict of interest. No one who is doctor, director of a health care facility, anyone involved in any capacity in the administration of a hospital, an owner of a health care facility, or psychiatric facility, as well anyone who provides hospice care, runs an hospice, or any kind of nursing home. The only exception is if any of these individual is a part of your immediate family or is married to you.

Yes. It is a wide-spread misconception that any property not yet transfered to the Living Trust upon the demise of the initial Trustee is automatically transferred to the Living Trust. The main purpose of a Pour-Over will is to designate the trust as the beneficiary of any property which you did not yet transfer into it before your demise. Other purposes of a pour over will are naming a guardian for minor children, saying whether you want to be buried or cremated, and letting the world know who you want as your personal representative of your estate when that matter is not covered by a trust. 

The main purpose of a Pour-Over Will is to transfer any remaining assets not yet in your living trust into the trust upon your Demise. However, this can also be used to name a guardian for your children, as well as to state whether you wish to be buried or cremated.