A revocable living trust provides flexibility to amend terms, avoids probate, and maintains privacy while you are alive. It streamlines asset transfer to heirs, reduces court oversight, and allows you to coordinate with tax planning and long-term care needs. With professional guidance, your plan adapts to life changes.
A comprehensive, funded revocable living trust avoids probate for many assets, preserving privacy and reducing the time and cost of estate settlement. This benefit is especially meaningful for families who value discretion and efficiency in asset distributions.
Our firm combines practical experience with client-centered guidance. We listen to your goals, explain tradeoffs clearly, and tailor documents to your family’s needs. With responsive communication and meticulous drafting, we aim to deliver a trustworthy plan you can rely on.
We schedule regular reviews to adjust beneficiaries, update asset lists, and reflect-life events, ensuring your plan remains aligned with your goals and current laws.
A revocable living trust is a private, adjustable arrangement created during your lifetime. You retain control as grantor, can amend or revoke terms, and fund it with assets. After death, a successor trustee administers distributions to beneficiaries without probate, preserving privacy and efficiency. This flexible tool supports ongoing stewardship of your wishes. A revocable living trust is not permanent and does not remove ownership of assets. It complements wills, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives, providing a coordinated framework for asset management, guardianship, and beneficiary planning while you remain in control during life.
Yes, many assets held in a properly funded revocable living trust avoid probate. Probate avoidance saves time, reduces costs, and maintains privacy for your family. However, some assets passed outside the trust, such as certain retirement accounts or non-title-protected items, may still go through probate unless properly coordinated. To maximize probate avoidance, it is important to fund the trust during your lifetime and review title histories periodically with your attorney.
A revocable living trust is suitable for individuals who want privacy, flexibility, and a clear plan for asset distribution. It is particularly helpful for families with minor children, blended families, or assets spread across multiple states. Even small estates can benefit from streamlined administration and incapacity planning. Consulting with an attorney helps determine whether a trust-based plan or a hybrid approach best meets your goals and circumstances.
Costs vary based on complexity, asset count, and local market rates. A typical revocable living trust includes drafting the trust, related documents, and initial funding guidance. Some fees are flat, while others are hourly. Investing in a comprehensive plan can save money by reducing probate and future administrative expenses.
The timeline depends on asset readiness and funding. From initial consultation to signing, expect a few weeks to a few months. Delays usually relate to gathering titles, beneficiary information, and coordinating with other documents. Proper funding often happens soon after signing, ensuring the trust governs assets promptly.
A revocable trust itself does not remove estate taxes while you are alive, but it can be structured to optimize tax outcomes for beneficiaries after death. Proper planning may coordinate with other strategies, heirship considerations, and state law. Discuss with your attorney how to align your plan with tax goals.
Assets to fund typically include real estate, bank accounts, investment accounts, and business interests. It is important to title these assets in the name of the trust and update beneficiary designations as needed. Untitled or mismatched assets may not be governed by the trust as intended.
If you become incapacitated, your durable powers of attorney and successor trustee steps in to manage finances and assets. This preserves your preferences for care and asset management without court intervention. The trust provisions can guide distributions and protect your privacy during incapacity.
Yes. A revocable living trust is designed to be amended or dissolved during your lifetime. You can add or remove assets, change beneficiaries, or replace the trustee as needed. Regular reviews with an attorney help ensure changes reflect your current goals and circumstances.
To get started with Hatcher Legal in University Park, schedule an initial consultation to discuss your goals, assets, and timeline. We will outline a plan, gather necessary information, draft documents, and guide you through funding and execution, with ongoing support for updates and reviews.
