If you want to avoid probate, save time and money for your beneficiaries, then a trust will do that by permitting your successor trustees to pick up where you left off after you pass away. A 3-5% savings of your assets and a streamlined administration process that can only take weeks as opposed to months or years (typical in a probate process) can be achieved through a trust.

A probate can take anywhere from six months to over a year depending on complexity or will contests by unhappy beneficiaries.

A trust holds your assets while you are living, and when you pass, your successor trustee picks up where you left off utilizing the same accounts.

A Quitclaim, Warranty, or Ladybird Deed will allow real estate to avoid probate. Depending on whether you use a Trust or a Will, a different type of deed may be used. A Ladybird Deed is typically paired with a will in order to avoid probate for the family home.

Assigning Corporate Shares and updating your corporate records will help your corporation to avoid probate. An updated operating agreement will assist in probate avoidance for your company as well

A Ladybird Deed is essentially a beneficiary designation for your home. When you pass away, the named beneficiary, whether a Trust or an actual person, shall receive the property outside of the probate process. Listing the Trust as beneficiary on a Ladybird Deed ensures that the property will be subject to the terms and protections of the trust upon your passing.

If you’ve ever heard of the saying, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” well, we as estate planning attorneys say “Where there’s a will, there’s a probate.” There are ways to avoid probate if you have a will, such as through a Ladybird deed and beneficiary designations, but many customizations or protections afforded by the Trust will not extend to the Will.

If drafted properly, the Deed and the terms of the Trust will prevent the loss of your Homestead Exemption. This is one of those areas where if you do your own legal work, you could easily lose your Homestead Exemption when conveying the property.

If drafted properly, the Deed and the terms of the Trust will prevent your assessed value from increasing. This is also another area where if you do your own legal work, your property could be assessed by the appraiser and your taxes could increase dramatically.

List who you trust, hence the root of “Trustee.” You should list someone who is an adult, financially responsible, trustworthy and accessible. Typically, parents will leave their kids or another family member to serve as Trustee after death so that Trustee fees do not need to be paid to a Trust company.

Depending on the level of asset protection that you want for yourself or for your beneficiaries, it is a good idea to consider listing a trust company to step in and protect your assets from creditors, lawsuits, divorces, and so on. You’ll likely want that some protection for your children, so that your hard-earned money doesn’t go to a son or daughter in law, or a savvy personal injury attorney.

If your beneficiaries inherit from a Trust, then the assets will maintain what is called a “Step Up in Basis”, meaning that the beneficiaries will not have to worry about being taxed at your cost-basis for the assets you accumulated during your lifetime. For example, if your kids inherit your property and bank accounts from Trust, then the assets will be “stepped up” and will be tax-free if liquidated after your passing.

A beneficiary trust or “sub-trust” will protect beneficiaries from their creditors, divorces, or suits. The inherited trust, or beneficiary trust, is irrevocable and is not associated with your child’s social security number. This means it will be difficult for creditors to locate the asset. If you want the air-tight setup, then listing a co-trustee alongside your children who can step in if there is an “event of duress” such as a lawsuit or divorce will protect the inheritance.

A land trust is a type of revocable trust in the state of Florida that takes your name off of public record and assists in the limitation of liability in the event of a lawsuit much like an LLC. Walt Disney purchased Disneyland property through the use of Land Trusts for the protection and anonymity.

Probate typically costs between 3 and 6% of your assets. A Trust costs between $2,000 and $6,000 depending on the complexity of the setup. Depending on your net worth, it will likely be substantially cheaper to set up a Trust as opposed to having the beneficiaries fork out the bill.

A will plan costs between $750 and $1250, whereas a Trust plan costs between $2,000 and $6,000 depending on the complexity of the plan. Many attorneys would prefer to draft a will for their clients, as the children will seek out the attorney who drafted the will to probate the estate. This 3-6% fee of the estate is what nets many law firms profit, at the expense of the beneficiaries.

Your powers of attorney are revoked immediately upon your passing. A will and a trust come into play after your passing, as your agent can no longer carry out your medical or financial wishes after you have passed away.

Yes. In the state of Florida, as soon as you sign your power of attorney, it is active. This means you really need to trust who you list as your power of attorney. This is also a good thing, because you do not need to worry about a judge’s approval or the court process in order for your power of attorney agent to take care of your medical and financial affairs.

People sue for a myriad of reasons in the United States. Here in Florida, people sue against a will or Trust because the beneficiary may not have received as much as they expected, or the kids may fight over who will have control over the estate. Little things in the documentation such as a no-contest clause, or a self-proving affidavit, or a certification can help to avoid these costly and drama-ridden court proceedings.

When John Wayne died, he died rich. By the end of his probate, he had no liquid assets. A will contest comes out of the estate, meaning that if beneficiaries do not agree with the inheritance they received, then they can contest the will and charge the estate. This is to be contrasted with a Trust, which is harder to contest and requires the beneficiary to pay an attorney out of pocket to contest.