Revocable Trusts

What are Revocable Trusts?

What is a Revocable Trust, and Who is Involved?

Revocable trusts are an effective way to avoid probate and provide for asset management in the event of incapacity. In addition, revocable trusts, sometimes called “living” trusts, are incredibly flexible and can achieve many other goals, including tax, long-term care, and asset-protection planning. A trust is a legal arrangement through which one person holds legal title to property for another person. As the creator of a revocable trust, you are called the “grantor” or the “donor.” While you are alive, you are a beneficiary of the trust and can also serve as either the sole trustee or as one of a number of co-trustees. The trustees manage the assets in the trust, which can include real estate, bank accounts, investments, and tangible property (such as fine art) under the terms outlined in the trust document.

Whatever you place into your revocable trust (or bucket) during your life will pass to your beneficiaries at your death without going through probate, avoiding the cost, delay, and publicity of Arkansas probate. In addition, in the event of incapacity, a co-trustee can step in and manage the trust property without any fuss. While you can also accomplish this through a durable power of attorney, banks and other financial institutions are much more comfortable with trusts. They have been known to reject durable powers of attorney that are more than a few years old or to require that the drafting attorney certify that the power of attorney has not been revoked.

Most clients will say they want the best and most efficient way to distribute their estate when they are gone. We believe a revocable trust is the best option for estate planning.

What Are The Benefits of a Revocable Trust?

In our experience, a trust is better than simple beneficiary designations because a trust is more complex and accounts for many of life’s unanticipated situations. For example, a revocable trust will:

• Avoid probate if a child predeceases you
• Allow you to amend it while you are still living
• Protect assets from creditors
• Keep assets and records private and away from the public eye
• Ensure assets are distributed to grandchildren and not a son-in-law or daughter-in-law
• Provide contingency planning if a beneficiary predeceases you
• Avoid the necessity of changing beneficiary forms after life changes
• Name a trusted individual to carry out your wishes
• Prevent lump sum, immediate distributions to minors
• Protect assets in the event of special needs planning
• Minimize taxes to your spouse and children
• Provide a no-contest clause in the event of a family argument

Overall, our clients value the benefits and options of a revocable trust. If you live in White County, Pulaski County, or Saline County, in cities like Sherwood, Little Rock, and Benton, we can help you develop a revocable trust and put your family in the best position to avoid unforeseen risks.

So What’s the Secret?

The secret to making revocable trusts work is to fund them (i.e., filling up the bucket). This means retitling assets, whether real estate, bank accounts, or investment accounts, in the name of the trust. All too often, attorneys draw up estate planning documents, advise clients to fund their trusts, and then nothing happens. Trusts have no relation to assets that are not retitled. However, if you execute a “pour-over” will along with your trust, transferring your assets to your trust at your death, your wishes for the distribution of your estate will be carried out. You just won’t avoid probate and will not be as strongly protected in case of incapacity.

How Do I Fund My Revocable Trust?

BANK ACCOUNTS:  To place bank and investment accounts into your revocable trust, you have a couple of options:

• You can simply name your trust as the Payable on Death designee or
• You can retitle the account as follows: “[your name and co-trustee’s name] as Trustees of [trust name] Revocable Trust created by agreement dated 2022.”

Depending on the institution, you might be able to change the name on an existing account. In some limited situations, you will need to open a new account in the name of the trust and then transfer the funds. The financial institution will probably require a copy of the trust, or at least the first page and signature page, as well as the trustee’s signature. As long as you are serving as your own trustee or co-trustee, your trust is identified by your Social Security number. If you are not a trustee, the trust will have to obtain a separate tax identification number and file a 1041 tax return each year. You will still be taxed on all of the income, but the trust will not.

REAL ESTATE:  Our firm will execute a deed and a trustee’s certificate to transfer real estate into your trust. If you intend to refinance your property or take out a line of credit, do so before deeding the real estate into your trust. In most instances, banks and other lenders require that you remove the property from the trust and put it back in your name before signing any new mortgage papers. Depending on your state, you might also need to redo a homestead declaration after transferring property into a revocable trust.

How Does a Revocable Trust Protect for the Future?

The following are just some of the many ways a revocable trust protects the future:

• When does the successor trustee take over? When all of the original co-trustees stop serving (whether due to incapacity, death, or resignation) or when only one stops serving?
• What if my primary beneficiary dies?
• Will a son-in-law or daughter-in-law control my trust?
• How do you define the incapacity of a trustee?
• What can the trust invest in?
• May it pay the debts of your estate?
• If there’s an absence of trustees for any reason and you aren’t available, who appoints the new trustee? Do you want to require that new trustees have any particular qualifications?
• Do you want to give anyone else the right to remove trustees?
• What accounts or statements, if any, must the trustee provide to beneficiaries?
• Do you want distributions to be made to beneficiaries under age 18 or just made on their behalf? Would you prefer the trustee to continue managing the funds until your children or other beneficiaries reach a specified age, say 25 or 30? You can also provide partial distributions at various ages.
• What powers should the trustees have?

These and more issues need to be decided for all trusts. More complex trusts designed for tax and asset protection purposes present even more choices and get even longer and more complex. If you live in White County, Pulaski County, or Saline County, in the cities of Benton, Little Rock, and Sherwood, AR, we can help you determine whether you need a simple or complex trust.