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Four Reasons a Living Trust Protects Your Home

This article is on the four reasons you need a living trust to protect your home. If you’re a California real property owner, you’re likely concerned about what happens to your home if you were to die. A living trust is a powerful tool to address your concern and more.

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First, what is a living trust? A living trust is a legal document. Your assets transfer into the trust while you are still alive. You name yourself the trustee and during your lifetime maintain control over your assets. Then, when you pass away, the trust assets are transferred to your designated beneficiaries.

The term “lving trust” references your condition when you create the trust. If the trust is created after your death it is a testamentary trust. If you are alive when the trust is created, it is a living trust. A living trust is more of a marketing term, than a term of legal significance.

Four Reasons a Living Trust Protects Your Home

  • Avoid Probate: A living trust allows your assets to pass to your beneficiaries without going through the probate. Probate is a court-supervised process that can be lengthy, expensive, and public. By avoiding probate, you save time and money. Also, you keep your affairs private.
  •  Greater Control: You maintain control over your assets during your lifetime. You can change the terms of the trust and add or remove assets. You can even revoke the trust entirely if needed.
  •  Flexibility: You can tailor your living trust to your needs and circumstances. For example, you can include provisions to care for your minor children or a child with special needs. Another example is if you have children who need to be financially savvy. You can distribute assets over time or based on certain conditions for these children.
  •  Reduce taxes: A living trust can effectively minimize estate and capital gains taxes. The surviving spouse can reduce capital gains tax with a step-up in basis on the death of the first spouse. A step-up in basis is when one spouse dies, and half of the community property basis increases to fair market value as of the date of death.

Summary

Overall, a living trust provides significant advantages for California real property owners looking to protect their assets and provide for their loved ones. To learn more about whether a living trust is right for you, call Mark W. Bidwell for an appointment to meet. His phone number is 714-846-2888, or email Mark@DeedAndRecord.