Your estate details are nobody’s business except yours and those you choose to share with. So, how can you keep your business away from prying eyes and nosy scammers? Setting up a revocable trust, also known as a living trust, keeps your details private while giving you complete control over your assets. We Help You Legal, LLC, with offices in San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles, has assisted hundreds of people with the legal documentation to create a living trust.
How does a living trust keep my information private?
Trusts are confidential legal arrangements that provide a way to manage and transfer assets without minimal public exposure. For example, transferring real estate to the trust requires a change of title. Real estate titles are public information. Trusts also avoid probate court, which is a public process.
A will is subject to probate. A trust is not. Although you may need a pour-over will to designate guardians for minor children, and specify that assets are to be transferred to your trust upon your death. The pour-over will makes sure that any assets you did not transfer to your trust get transferred.
Upon your death, your successor trustee bypasses probate court and manages the trust, pays taxes and debts, and distributes assets according to your instructions.
Setting up a living trust can be a relatively stress-free process with the assistance of the Paso Robles living trust document assistants from We Help You Legal.
Why are probate hearings public?
When there is no trust, the probate court determines how assets are distributed, even when there is a will. Probate requires public hearings, and the process includes public notices and public filings that make certain information available to anyone curious enough to review the court records.
When information such as estate assets, heirs, and what they are inheriting is available to the public, including estranged relatives and scammers, they can file claims with the probate court. The probate court decides who is entitled to a share of the estate, regardless of what is specified in the will. Not only can disputes delay the court’s decisions, but they can also result in the wrong people getting a share of your estate.
What does a trust keep private?
Private information that is protected by a trust includes the total value of your estate, and other information such as:
Financial information such as investments, bank accounts, insurance policies, and cash.
Real estate holdings, including your home, rental properties, open land, and even real estate in other states.
Beneficiaries, their identities, and what they receive are private. Keeping beneficiaries private also protects their privacy.
Inheritance conditions, such as a child’s share that remains in trust until a certain age.
Business and professional interest details, such as buy-out terms or control of the company, are private.
Sensitive family circumstances that could be revealed through public access to a will and probate court remain private family matters. Provisions for prior marriage partners, unmarried partners, or family members with special needs remain private and help avoid public embarrassment.
Privacy during incapacity
A living trust also protects your privacy if you become incapacitated. A well-structured trust and estate plan includes provisions for incapacitation, such as powers of attorney for finances and health care. Whether you are temporarily or permanently incapacitated is no one’s business except yours and those you have designated to tend to your affairs.
What if I decide to sell my house after it’s in the trust?
With a revocable trust, you control what you transfer or remove from the trust. If you decide to sell your home, buy a new one, or give your vintage vehicle to your grandson, you can do so. You can even sell that vehicle, buy a new one, and transfer the new vehicle to the trust.
You remain in control of the trust until death, at which point the trust becomes irrevocable.
Assistance with your living trust legal documents
Assisting with living trust documents from their Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo offices is one of We Help You Legal’s many services. Other legal document assistance services include:
- Divorce
- Adoptions
- LLC and Corporation
- Guardianships
- Powers of Attorney
- Estate planning
- Custody matters
- And more.
We Help You Legal has been assisting individuals with legal documents since 2001.
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.
Call today and start your living trust!
