Living Trusts In Michigan Protect Your Assets And Give You Peace Of Mind

By Author: alice davidson
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A living trust in Michigan or "revocable" trust is a legal document that maintains ownership of your assets during your lifetime. While you are alive, you serve as the trustee and manage the trust and all of the assets you put into the trust. When you pass away, the assets in your trust are then distributed to your designated beneficiaries according to your wishes.
Often times a living trust is a trust created to ensure that your assets get passed properly to your heirs. A living trust avoids probate court, can minimize estate taxes, and helps to manage assets should the owner become incapacitated or pass away. A trust can also be established to care for family members with special needs or ensure that assets and inheritance are managed for children until they reach a mature age.

Basic Parties In A Living Trust In Michigan

Grantor:The person who creates the trust.
Trustee: The person, or entity such as a bank, that agrees to manage and administer the property or assets in the trust. The grantor is usually the trustee while they are still living.
Principal: The assets, including money, which ...
... is held in the trust and managed by the trustee
Beneficiary: A person or people who finally receive the property or assets in the trust

Benefits of a Living Trust

• Living Trust Avoids Probate
• Living Trust Provides Privacy
• Living Trust May Save You Money
• Living Trust Provides Peace of Mind

In Michigan, A Living Trust Provides Privacy
A living trust in Michigan helps provide additional privacy because a living trust avoids probate court. Probate court is a public process. Without a living trust, your assets will need to go through probate before they can be distributed to your beneficiaries. This means that all of your assets are made public. One of the benefits of working with a trust attorney is that they can create a legally binding trust that will avoid probate court and ensure that your assets remain private.
With a revocable living trust, you can place your assets like your home, bank accounts, and other assets in the revocable living trust while maintaining control over them as the trustee of the trust while you’re alive.
Your designated successor trustee will distribute the funds in the trust after you pass away. Your successor trustee can also step in if you become incapacitated and can’t make medical and financial decisions on your own.
A Living Trust May Help You Save Money
While the initial cost of a revocable living trust may seem to be more than a will, in the long run a will usually ends up becoming more expensive. This is because a will does not avoid probate. Probate can be VERY long and expensive, especially if the will is challenged.
A living trust is a much more complicated document to draft. This is why its initial cost is a little bit higher. But unlike a will, a living trust avoids probate and is much less likely to be challenged. This means that you will not need to pay the additional legal and court fees associated with probate. As a result, a living trust is usually the better long term investment for people looking to protect their assets and ensure that their property gets properly handed down to their heirs.
Depending on the size of your estate, a living trust may also help you minimize your estate taxes after you pass. Everyone’s situation is unique though, so it is usually best to consult with a trust attorney to see if a trust can help you minimize estate taxes.
Living Trust Provides Peace of Mind
When legal documents are drafted correctly, a living trust lays out a clear plan to distribute all your assets. This can help prevent unintentionally disinheriting someone you love.
A living trust can also help you provide care for a loved one with special needs and even protect assets from ending up in the wrong hands.All of these things can give you peace of mind, knowing that your estate will be handled exactly as you wish.
The existence of the trust can also provide certainty and comfort for your loved ones during stressful time as you've handled everything for them prior to your passing.