How Using a Living Trust to Protect Assets Can Benefit You

 Posted on January 14, 2021 in Estate Planning

Many people associate estate planning with death, and as a result, they often miss out on a truly valuable instrument of asset protection and financial management during their lifetime. A great place to begin learning about and utilizing estate planning is what is known as a “living trust.” This estate planning resource can allow you greater control over the transfer of your assets to your loved ones when the time is right through a mechanism that bypasses the time and expense of probate. To begin benefitting from estate planning, whether through a living trust, a will, or other tools, work with an experienced Illinois estate planning attorney.

Functions of a Living Trust

Unlike a will or a testamentary trust, which become effective only upon your death, a living trust can become effective while you are living. For many, a primary reason to create a living trust is to protect assets from the probate process. This form of lawful asset protection is accomplished when legal ownership of the assets is transferred from you—the “grantor”—to the trust under the control of a “trustee.” The trustee holds the assets in trust for those you who have selected to benefit from them—the “beneficiaries”.

Importantly, the law even allows you to be named as the trustee of your own living trust, which permits you to retain full control of the assets held in the trust during your lifetime. You have the ability to add or remove assets, modify the terms of the trust, or revoke the trust as you see fit. It is also important to name a successor trustee who will take over management of the trust assets in the event of your death or incapacitation. After your death, the assets can then be distributed to your named beneficiaries according to your wishes.

Contact a DuPage County Estate Planning Lawyer

A trust keeps working even after your passing, so it can secure your assets for your loved ones and beneficiaries well into the future. The most important thing is to choose the type of trust that is right for you, your assets, and those whom you intend to benefit. Whether you are crafting a living trust or a trust that only becomes effective upon your death, you can count on the knowledge and dedication of an experienced Lombard, IL estate planning attorney. Call 630-426-0196 for a confidential consultation at A. Traub & Associates today.

Source:

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs5.asp?ActID=4001&ChapterID=61