Terms used in the Living Trust Portfolio

A living trust is similar to a will, except it allows your family and loved ones to
completely avoid formal procedures to transfer your property (including the
court probate process, where applicable, which can be long, slow and expensive,
draining the estate of funds.)

The general principle in estate planning is that anything a person owns at death must go through
court procedures before it is given to one's heirs.

In a living trust, the property is technically no longer owned by the person
outright, avoiding the court process requirement. The person or married
couple has complete control to do whatever they want to with the trust
property, to buy, sell, give away, etc. They can name the person(s)
who the property will be given to after they pass away.
They can additionally revoke (cancel) the entire Living Trust or estate planning arrangement at
any time because this is a Revocable Living Trust. Generally, people
transfer their most expensive property in the Living Trust, and leave the
other items to be covered by a back-up will. Any taxes on the property in
the trust is still paid on the individual's or couple's personal tax return.

With a living trust, your heirs can often receive their real and personal property
in a matter of weeks, with little or no expense, and with complete confidentiality
(no filing in the court system which is a public record). With a revocable living trust, it is always at your option to terminate the trust at any time, and to spend, sell, give away or acquire real or personal property at any time.

We also provide a will as a backup to the living trust, so any property not
transferred into the living trust will still be distributed to the persons you have
designated at the time of death, as designated in your estate planning.

A children's trust allows you to set up a property manager or custodian to care
for the property a minor will inherit, until they reach a certain age you specify.

Naming a guardian will permit you to suggest to the court a person or persons
you believe would be good choices to care for your dependents, if necessary.

A power of attorney for finances allows you the option to designate a person
to pay your bills and handle your business if you become unable to handle
your own affairs due to incapacity, hospitalization, etc.

A power of attorney for healthcare allows you the option to designate a person
to interact with doctors on your behalf, if you are unable to make your
own healthcare decisions. You can also specify your choices for treatment
in the event you cannot express your own decisions at that time.