A revocable trust is an extremely popular estate planning tool that can help you plan ahead for your future. It is critical to ensure however that the trust has been appropriately funded. There is significant advantages associated with using a revocable trust, such as avoiding probate and asset management. However, you’ll never be able to allow these benefits to come to fruition if you don’t properly fund the trust.
This is a matter of transferring the ownership of assets into the trust or designating the trust as beneficiary. Some of the assets you may wish to transfer into the trust include personal property, bank accounts, investments like stock, real estate, certificates of deposit, vehicles, business interest, and partnership interest.
Moving a qualified retirement plan or an IRA over to a revocable trust can lead to unnecessary and unwanted tax consequences. Ensure that the trust has been properly structured with the trust as the beneficiary so that you can enjoy the tax benefits of doing so if you wish to transfer these assets inside. Many individuals have the best of intentions when they sign the trust documents, but it is equally important to follow up by actually funding the trust.
The best way to have confidence about your estate planning strategies is to consult with an experienced Massachusetts lawyer as soon as possible. Understanding how these tools work and how to get the most out of them has many benefits for you.
