Choosing this approach helps avoid probate in many situations, preserves privacy, and offers flexible management if incapacity occurs. It also enables you to tailor distributions to heirs while maintaining the right to modify terms as circumstances evolve. Our team translates complex statutes into clear, actionable steps.
Benefit: Unified asset management reduces duplication and ensures consistent beneficiary designations across accounts, retirement plans, and investments, saving time, preventing misalignment at critical moments, and helping executors carry out your wishes with confidence.
Hatcher Legal, PLLC serves North Carolina communities with a client-focused approach to estate planning. We provide practical guidance, transparent costs, and responsive service to help you protect what matters most while keeping you informed at every stage.
We offer ongoing reviews and updates in line with changes in family composition, asset values, or tax law. Regular follow-ups help keep your trust accurate, current, and effective over time.
A revocable living trust is a trust you create during life that you can modify or cancel. It holds title to assets while you remain in control as trustee, allowing flexible management and privacy. This structure enables you to adapt plans as circumstances change without relinquishing control. A revocable trust is funded during your lifetime and can be amended to reflect new assets or beneficiaries, providing a clear framework for transitions while you retain flexibility and oversight.
Yes. In many cases, revocable living trusts allow assets to transfer outside the probate process, providing privacy and faster access for beneficiaries. However, some assets and jurisdictions may still require probate; a qualified attorney can tailor funding and distributions to maximize probate avoidance where possible. Strategic funding and careful beneficiary design reduce delays and court involvement after death.
Funding a trust involves transferring ownership of assets into the trust or updating beneficiary designations to name the trust. This process may include re-titling real estate, relocating financial accounts, and coordinating with lenders. A well-funded trust operates smoothly because assets are already under the trustee’s control according to your instructions, both during life and after death.
A will directs asset distribution after death and generally requires probate, whereas a revocable living trust can manage assets during life and avoid probate in many situations. Wills and trusts can work together, with the trust handling ongoing management and the will addressing any remaining wishes or contingent provisions. Understanding both tools helps you optimize privacy, efficiency, and control.
Yes. Many individuals serve as both grantor and trustee, especially when they want to retain control of assets while setting clear instructions for future management. Selecting a reliable successor trustee and establishing clear governance helps ensure continuity if you become unable to act. Other trusted individuals or institutions can serve as co-trustees to provide additional oversight.
If you become incapacitated, a properly drafted revocable living trust can provide for continuity by naming a successor trustee to manage assets and implement your directives without court intervention. A durable power of attorney and advance directives further support decision-making in health and finances. This approach minimizes disruption for loved ones and preserves your goals.
Trusts are living documents that should be reviewed periodically, especially after major life events like marriage, birth, relocation, or changes in asset values. We recommend annual or biennial reviews to ensure funding, beneficiary designations, and trustees still reflect your current situation and preferences. Regular updates help avoid surprises for your heirs.
Relocating to North Carolina from another state requires updating the plan to comply with local law and to address new asset ownership, residency status, and potential tax implications. We help you adapt your revocable living trust to NC requirements while preserving your overall objectives. A smooth transition relies on timely updates and coordination with local professionals.
Trusts can offer asset protection in certain contexts, but revocable trusts provide limited protection because you retain control over assets. For stronger protection, you may consider additional planning tools such as irrevocable trusts or strategic gifting, which require careful analysis of goals and tax considerations. We tailor solutions to your needs.
To start the process, book a consultation with our Green Level team. We evaluate your assets, discuss goals, and outline a funding plan. From there, we draft documents, begin funding steps, and establish a schedule for reviews and updates as your life evolves. Early preparation helps you build a resilient plan.
