A revocable living trust offers flexibility, centralized asset management, and potential to avoid a full probate proceeding for assets properly placed in the trust. It can preserve privacy, provide continuity if you become incapacitated, and allow tailored distribution terms while remaining amendable during your lifetime.
A trust allows you to specify timing, conditions, and management structures for distributions, which can protect inherited assets from mismanagement and create staged distributions that match beneficiaries’ needs and maturity levels.
Hatcher Legal combines business and estate planning experience to craft trust solutions tailored to clients with real estate, corporate interests, or family complexities. We draft documents designed for clarity and ease of administration while addressing succession for businesses and protecting family interests.
We recommend regular reviews after major life events, business changes, or shifts in tax or estate law. Amendments can be prepared to reflect new wishes, replace trustees, adjust distribution terms, or incorporate new assets into the plan.
A revocable living trust is a legal arrangement that holds title to assets under terms you set while allowing you to remain in control and make changes during your lifetime. Unlike a will, which takes effect only upon death and is subject to probate, a properly funded trust can allow assets to be managed and transferred outside of probate. A will remains important as a backup document for assets not placed in the trust and for naming guardians for minor children. Combining a trust with a pour-over will and appropriate agent designations creates a coordinated estate plan that addresses both probate and nonprobate assets.
A revocable living trust does not generally provide protection from creditors or lawsuits because the grantor retains control and can revoke the trust. Creditors may still have claims against assets in a revocable trust during the grantor’s lifetime or during probate where applicable. For creditor protection, other planning tools may be appropriate, but they often require giving up control or creating an irrevocable structure. We discuss the tradeoffs between control and protection so you can choose an approach aligned with your financial and family goals.
Funding a trust involves retitling real estate, changing registration on bank and investment accounts, and assigning ownership interests in businesses to the trust where appropriate. It may also include updating beneficiary designations to name the trust as the recipient or ensuring accounts have payable-on-death designations aligned with the trust. We provide step-by-step assistance with funding to reduce common errors, coordinate with financial institutions and county recording offices, and prepare transfer documentation so that the trust holds the assets you intended for it to control.
Yes, many grantors serve as their own initial trustees so they retain full control while alive. Naming a reliable successor trustee is essential to ensure continuity if you become unable to manage affairs. Successor trustees should be capable of acting impartially and following the trust’s instructions. Some clients name a trusted family member followed by a professional or corporate trustee as a backstop. The decision depends on family dynamics, the complexity of assets, and whether continuity or neutrality will best serve beneficiaries’ interests.
Revocable trusts are an effective component of incapacity planning because trustees can step in to manage assets without court intervention when grantors become unable to act. Trust documents can grant clear authority to manage finances, pay bills, and care for property according to your directions. To complete incapacity planning, trusts should be paired with durable powers of attorney and advance health directives so both financial and medical decisions are covered. Coordinating these documents ensures caregivers and trustees have the authority needed to act promptly.
A trust avoids probate only for assets that have been properly transferred into the trust’s name or are otherwise designated to pass outside probate. Assets left in your individual name or subject to beneficiary designations inconsistent with the trust may still go through probate. A comprehensive review identifies which assets need retitling or beneficiary changes. Our process helps minimize probate exposure by coordinating funding steps and ensuring that the trust controls the assets you intend to pass outside the court process.
You should review trust documents whenever you experience major life events, such as marriage, divorce, births, deaths, significant changes in assets, or shifts in business ownership. Periodic reviews every few years help confirm that trustee appointments, distribution terms, and funding remain appropriate. Changes in tax or estate law can also affect planning, so it is wise to consult an attorney before you make significant decisions or if circumstances change materially. Regular updates keep the plan aligned with your current goals and legal environment.
Placing a business interest in a revocable trust can provide continuity for management and facilitate orderly transfer to heirs or successors. The trust document and any accompanying buy-sell agreements should address valuation, decision-making authority, and how ownership transitions will be handled. Because business arrangements can be complex, careful coordination with corporate documents, partnership agreements, and tax advisors is important to avoid unintended consequences and to preserve business value during ownership transitions.
Trusts can be drafted to provide for beneficiaries with disabilities or special needs while preserving eligibility for public benefits. Special language and distribution restrictions can create a supplemental needs trust within a revocable or other planning framework to support quality of life without disqualifying benefits. Designing such arrangements requires careful attention to benefit rules and coordination with caregivers and financial planners. We help tailor distributions and trustee powers to protect benefits while meeting long-term care and quality-of-life objectives for vulnerable beneficiaries.
Working with Hatcher Legal streamlines the trust process through a clear, documented workflow that covers goal-setting, drafting, funding, and ongoing review. We explain options in plain language, help gather necessary information, and coordinate title transfers and institutional changes to funding so the trust functions as intended. Our approach includes planning for business succession, estate mediation if disputes arise, and clarity of documents to reduce future administration burdens. We aim to create a practical, durable plan that fits your family, business, and financial circumstances.
