Estate Planning Attorney Denver|Trusts & Wills|Living Trust

Meurer Law Offices, P.C., serves clients in Denver, Greenwood Village, Centennial, Aurora, Littleton, Englewood, Arvada, Westminster, Broomfield, Parker, Castle Rock, Lone Tree, Sheridan, Elizabeth, Kiowa, Lakewood, Parker, Highlands Ranch, Denver County, Arapahoe County, Adams County, Douglas County, Jefferson County, Colorado.

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Using A Living Trust

Both a Will and a Living Trust can be used to transfer property when you die, but the similarity ends there. A Will has no effect until you die while a Trust becomes operative during your lifetime to manage your assets. While a Will is part of the public record, a Trust is not. Trusts are usually easier to amend than Wills and less likely to be contested by the beneficiaries.

You can use a Living Trust to make decisions about your long term and old age care. The Trust can specify your care by your family or in a nursing home. If you become disabled or incompetent, the Trust will control who will care for you and how your money will be managed. Without a Trust a court might need to appoint a guardian if you become incapacitated. As with Probate, guardianships proceedings can be costly and time consuming.

A Trust may help you in a variety of other circumstances. For example you can use a management feature of Trust to appoint a professional Trustee for the elderly, for inexperienced persons who have recently inherited wealth and for minors. Trusts are also useful for those lacking time to manage their property such as busy professionals, entrepreneurs, and entertainers.

You can use a Living Trust to choose the State with jurisdiction for administrating your Estate. The State for your Trust can be different from the State in which you reside. This can enable you to select a State that has laws most favorable to you for income tax and inheritance tax purposes. The Living Trust document can also designate a Successor Trustee or provide instructions on how to select the Successor Trustee.

For tax purposes, the Trust property is treated as if you remained the owner. You report income for the Trust on your federal income tax return until your death. However, there are no federal gift tax consequences upon the creation and the funding of your Trust. A Trust can also be used to avoid Estate taxes by doubling the Estate tax exemption for married couples. Further, the Trust can be designed to provide the most favorable tax treatment for you and your heirs.