-A question that often comes up for parents is: “Who’s going to take care of the kids if we can’t?”. Friends and family members may agree to step up to take care of your children in the sad event that both parents die or are seriously incapacitated but life changes and those people may not be able to fulfill their promise if that time comes. Some parents elect to set up a living trust that identifies guardians as well as someone to administer finances for their children.
Identifying guardians and avoiding probate and taxes is one of many reasons that parents choose to protect their children’s futures with a living trust. A living trust isn’t only for rich people with valuable investments, properties and possessions. A living trust is a way that anyone can help insure their children’s futures. We Help You Legal, in Paso Robles, that assists with living trust legal documents, has compiled the following reasons that parents say they choose to set up a living trust:
- Naming guardians for minor children, or for dependent adult children who are unable to take care of themselves. The guardian is the person or persons you want to raise your children in the event you are not able to do so.
- You can name more than one guardian in case your first choice is no longer able to fulfill your wishes.
- Naming a trustee who handles assets and finances on your children’s behalf. Assets can include anything such as the family home, insurance policies, bank accounts, college funds, or Social Security survivor’s benefits.
- A living trust can include matters such as selling the family home and how the proceeds of the sale are protected for your children’s benefit, administering college funds even for children already in college, how funds in bank accounts are distributed for your children’s benefit, who can manage insurance benefits or Social Security benefits for your children, and more.
- Avoiding probate court by setting up a living trust helps ensure that all of the above happen according to the parents’ wishes.
Even though most parents agree they want the best for their children, the cost of hiring an attorney to set up a living trust can be a deterrent. Some parents elect to set up their living trust themselves but find they need some assistance with all of the legal documents. Getting the documents filled out correctly and filed on time is often just too much for an already packed schedule. We Help You Legal, the legal document assistance service in Paso Robles helps with living trust legal documents.
In the process of researching the option for setting up a living trust, parents are also often pleased to discover that:
- Assets are much more protected from creditors or others who may contest a will without a trust.
- A living trust is not subject to probate court, where the judge might make decisions that are contrary to your wishes.
- Even though you have specified your children’s guardian in a will, without the living trust, the will goes to probate court and the judge can appoint someone else as guardian or as an administrator over the children’s finances.
Another strong point in favor of a living trust is that the trust remains in your control until your death or severe incapacitation. You can make changes to the living trust at any time. You can change the trust upon the birth or adoption of a child, if an originally named guardian is no longer available, when you sell a home and buy a new one, if you change jobs, change banks, add investments, or for any other reason.
Including a power of attorney and an Advanced Health Care Directive (AHCD) with the living trust is even more guarantee that all of your wishes will be followed.
We Help You Legal has been assisting Central Coast residents with life’s important legal documents for over 20 years. With offices in San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles, the staff specializes in Living Trust, Divorce, LLC/Corporation, and other legal document matters bringing an extensive level of experience and professionalism to every service.
We Help You legal is a “self-help” legal document assistance company that provides document preparation without the high cost of an attorney. We Help You Legal, Inc. is not a law firm. We cannot represent you in court, advise you about your legal rights or the law, or select forms for you.
