Are Revocable Trusts Difficult to Maintain?

Revocable trusts can provide many benefits by allowing asset owners to retain control over property, even though legal ownership transfers to the trust. However, since you have to precisely identify the assets placed in trust, you need to periodically maintain trusts — to keep them current if you add or remove assets. Whether you live in Henderson, or anywhere else in Nevada, an experienced estate planner can help keep maintenance issues under control.

Once you place assets in trust, you technically do not own them anymore, even if you still control them. One advantage of transferring ownership in this way is that only the assets you own can be used to repay creditors in the event of your death. As explained by the American Bar Association, when you die, the trustee either distributes the contents of the trust to the beneficiaries that you designate, or manages the contents on behalf of the beneficiaries. The assets in a trust are seldom subject to probate proceedings.

However, you need to specify every asset within a trust. For example, if you want to establish a trust to ensure that your child inherits all of your antiques, you must include a description of each antique in the trust. If you later purchase additional antiques, you must add them to the trust to ensure that your child inherits them. You may not automatically remember to make the necessary changes to your trust, but the full-service Las Vegas estate planner who set up the trust should periodically contact you and ask the right questions, to learn whether you add any new items to the trust.

The estate planning attorneys at Tyrell Law, PLLC provide full service to address all client needs — from developing an effective estate plan to periodically making sure that you keep your estate plan up-to-date. Contact us to learn how we can help protect your assets, now and into the future.