MN Estate Planning | Should You Get a Trust?
Minnesota Trusts are funny little things.
You’ve most likely heard them tossed around in the same sentence as wills and estates, but you might not be sure if having one is really advantageous to estate planning. This article aims to tackle that issue head on. Before you even search for a trust lawyer, let’s give you a few reasons why you want to have a trust. Besides providing extra security for your estate, they can also prove beneficial to your beneficiaries. Keeping a trust can help them deal with fewer taxes. Trusts do much more than you may think.
Before and After
Trusts aren’t exclusive to the deceased. A little something referred to as a living trust or a revocable trust helps you pass on your property and assets before you pass on. You can start donating while you’re still here. Thankfully, you don’t have to give away all your assets immediately. This variety of trust handles the stuff that you want to transfer now and after you’re gone. So, you won’t have to wait and see beneficiaries receive their inheritance or worry about not having guidance for the possessions you wish to give away later on.
Things don’t need to be permanent as stone, however. Changing your Minnesota trust to fit your wishes can happen whenever. That’s why your lawyer is so beneficial. They can work beside you to adjust the living trust whenever you feel like it. Think of yourself as the Shakespeare of living trusts and go through as many rewrites until you have everything set up perfectly. For people envisioning themselves giving assets while still on earth, a living trust could be your answer.
Taxes and More Taxes | MN Trusts
It would be wonderful if we only had to pay taxes on stuff we bought at the store. Life, however, has not made that the case. Sadly, your estate may incur taxes. States can impose their own tax laws on your estate whenever they want to set those in place. Factoring in only the federal tax laws might not cut it.
Thankfully, your lawyer is the person to visit with first to get all of the legal tax jargon out of the way. Moreover, despite the fact that having a smaller estate can help your family avoid taxation, just as estates are relative in size to each person, tax laws are also relative to each state. What’s considered to be a small size in one state might be large or medium in another.
To help handle taxes, you should go ahead and set up a trust. There are multiple different kinds of trusts such as irrevocable life insurance trusts and qualified personal residence trusts that may prove beneficial. Nonetheless, consult a trust lawyer first. Tell them about your situation to see which kind of trust fits your situation best.
Extra Protection
Yes, it’s true that regardless of being a beneficiary or not, anyone can contest how your assets are distributed. A sad truth is that your will isn’t quite the law. So, getting some added protection for your will might be your best bet. Procuring a trust by working with a knowledgeable lawyer is one such kind of protection.
The power that trusts have over wills, in this case, is that they’re harder to contest than wills. Technically speaking, they can be contested just as a will can be contested. Reasons for contesting the trust are somewhat similar to contesting a will.
In the circumstance that you dealt with psychological issues while having the will and/or trust made, for example, someone could use your mental condition as grounds for contesting your estate. In a nutshell, while trusts do not guarantee complete safety, they’re better than only having a bare-bones will. Directly contact your lawyer if you’re concerned that your will and/or trust might be contested for any reason.
Worst Case Scenario
For sake of conversation, say that you become unexpectedly incapacitated. The ICU becomes your new home for at least a little while. Should someone necessitate access to your assets during that time, as long as they’re a survivor trustee, they might be able to do things while you’re still feeling down. They’ll be able to be your backup support in case you’re not feeling so good.
In the same case, not having a survivor trustee means your family might find themselves paying a visit to court. To fill the void, a court appointed conservator might need to help work out your estate situation. Who that could be is completely up to the court. Without proper estate planning and the court having say who acts as the conservator, what becomes of your assets might be anyone’s guess. To prevent this situation from happening, take preventive action so that your family doesn’t need to worry about your estate or a costly Minnesota probate.
Minnesota Trust Lawyers | Minnesota Trusts
Trusts are not rocket science as long as you have a good trust lawyer. The law firm of Flanders Law Firm LLC offers you exactly that. Step one is to dial 612-424-0398 and step two is to schedule your free consultation.
They can assist you with your estate planning needs, including getting a qualitative trust. Call now to get your estate ready.
