Living Trusts

When an individual is diagnosed with cancer, especially an aggressive cancer like mesothelioma, many decisions must be made quickly. Often, financial issues enter the picture and the individual is concerned about what will happen to their assets after they pass away. While a last will and testament is essential, some individuals also choose to set up living trusts to insure that their property is distributed as they wish while maintaining control while they are still alive.

Becoming more and more popular throughout the last decade, living trusts are trusts that are established while the “grantor” (the person establishing the trust, like patients of pleural mesothelioma) is living. This is in contrast to a testamentary trust, which is not established until after the grantor is deceased.

Living trusts have actually been around for a long time, originating with kings in 16th century England who wanted to be sure the distribution of land was fair and equitable. For centuries, they remained a tool of the rich and it wasn’t really until the late 20th century that it was recognized that anyone with an estate of more than $100,000 or so could benefit from this tool.

What are the Benefits?

In the United States, a living trust is created during a person’s lifetime in order to save money on taxes or, in many cases, to set up long-term property management. Living trusts are also advantageous in that they are not subject to probate – resulting in substantial savings - and can also help regulate the use of the grantor’s assets if he or she becomes incapacitated and unable to make decisions on their own.

Just about anything can be placed in trust, including savings accounts, stocks and bonds, life insurance, real estate, and other types of personal property.

Parties to the Trust

A living trust involves three different parties:

• Grantor – Also called the settlor or the trustor, the grantor is the individual who establishes the trust.
• Trustee - This is the person who manages the trust’s assets. In the case of revocable living trusts, this may be the grantor. If the grantor is indeed the trustee, a successor trustee is also named should the grantor die.
• Beneficiary – This is the individual or individuals who will “benefit” from the established living trust. The grantor may be the original beneficiary and his heirs the “remainder” beneficiaries.

Setting Up at Living Trust

The best way to determine whether or not a living trust is right for you and your estate is to contact an attorney that is well-versed in financial issues. After reviewing your assets and other particulars, he can tell you whether or not this type of financial vehicle is appropriate for your situation. Setting up a living trust doesn’t consume a lot of time and may relieve a substantial amount of burden from the shoulders of the asbestos cancer victim who is concerned about his estate and recognizes that he has little time to make important decisions such as this.

Once it is determined that an individual would benefit from establishing one or more living trusts, an attorney can help put everything in place including the naming of beneficiaries for those seeking to leave property to heirs or other friends or loved ones. When the individual establishing the trust passes away, the property will be transferred to the beneficiaries and the trust will be dissolved.

Source

Save Wealth Estates
http://www.savewealth.com/planning/estate/livingtrusts/