When a family decides to begin estate planning, elders, parents with children, and even middle-aged folks are involved. When it comes to distributing your assets, estate planning can make things easier. When you create your estate plan, you can appoint a trustee to manage your assets according to your wishes with a legal document called a trust. While trusts may be time-consuming to create, you can use this legal agreement to help you with your estate plan. Here are several advantages of using trusts for estate planning.
Estate Planning Gives You Peace of Mind
Death may not be the only reason you start estate planning. In the event that you are incapacitated, you can have peace of mind that you will be taken care of through the use of a trust. This option will allow you to provide instructions to a trustee and save your family the heartache of deciding who will take care of you and your finances. Creating a trust for estate planning is in your best interest to ensure that everything is handled according to your wishes if the unexpected happens.
Peace of Mind for Your Family
You can use a trust to ensure that your family is taken care of. A trust can also reduce stress for your loved ones by minimizing the time it takes for them to receive their assets. Without a proper plan, it may take longer for your family to get access to what you leave for them. A trust will allow you to look after your family even after you’re gone, creating a smooth transition for all.
Give to the Right Beneficiaries
It may be a surprise, but more often than not, families fight over how to decide where your assets will go and who the beneficiaries are. Families that experience an unexpected death may feel financial strain and confusion because they are left to make difficult decisions without a plan. Avoid turmoil and leave no question or room for error regarding your wishes with a trust naming your beneficiaries and what they will receive.
Minimize Your Expenses
When you pass on without a proper estate plan, much of your money will go to attorney’s fees and court costs. Letting the courts decide where your money and assets go is the process known as “probate,” and it can become very expensive. Even modest estates can accumulate thousands of dollars in fees. Those funds could have been used for living expenses and other bills for your family, but instead go directly to an attorney’s pocket. Ensure that you leave as much as possible for your loved ones with estate planning that includes a trust.
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As the most experienced CPA in the Inland Empire who specializes in working with seniors, Marcia L. Campbell is committed to helping each client thrive by caring for their personal and financial wellbeing with genuine interest, well-established expertise, and a focus on respectful partnerships. Marcia’s team specializes in a number of services including elder & financial care, court & trust accountings as well as private fiduciary and tax services. At Marcia L. Campbell, CPA, we understand the importance of our clients’ individual needs and are committed to helping them make the best personal and financial decisions for their future.
I like that you pointed out how a trust would allow you to look after your family even after you’re gone, which would create a smooth transition for all. I was reading up about estate planning earlier and I just learned about trusts. From what I heard, you could even hire a trust lawyer to help you out.
It’s amazing how an estate plan gives you options for distributing your assets upon death! I like the idea of supporting your relatives as they go on with their lives. I’ll consider this idea in the future once I own assets that I can share with my future children.