A living trust is a document for estate planning purposes that is created and effective during your lifetime. Also known as a revocable living trust, it allows you to manage your own assets. Creating a living trust is often done for 
the following reasons:
- It can help you with avoiding probate;
- It can help maintain privacy of your assets and for your beneficiaries;
- In the case of your incapacity, it can make things easier to administer for your financial helpers;
- It can help reduce the impact of the federal and/or state-level estate tax; and
- It gives you flexibility in how you’d like to provide for your beneficiaries.
Even though you can find plenty of materials about living trusts online, it is not recommended to pursue the DIY route.
You especially need the support of a knowledgeable estate planning lawyer if you have a complicated estate plan. Examples of this could include plans that:
- Have conditions for beneficiaries.
- Deal with remarriage situations and/or deal with children from a different relationship.
- Include generation-skipping asset transfers.
- Have a taxable estate (in Massachusetts, having assets of $1 million or more).
- Involve high-dollar life insurance policies.
- Involve transfers of assets to the trust.
- Involve beneficiaries who are currently receiving government assistance or those with special needs.
Doing a little research to familiarize yourself with the living trust process is the first stage to deciding whether or not this is the right estate planning tool for you.
Avoiding mistakes and ensuring that you have appropriately established and funded the trust is important for protecting your own interests as well as those of your beneficiaries. Don’t hesitate to contact a knowledgeable estate planning lawyer today to learn more.
