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A properly drafted Revocable Living Trust (RLT) is a powerful estate planning tool that allows you to remain in control of your assets during your lifetime, have them managed appropriately during your incapacity, and efficiently and privately transfer them to your loved ones at death according to your wishes.
Sometimes referred to simply as a “Living Trust” or a “Trust,” an RLT holds legal title to your assets and provides a mechanism to manage them. You would serve as both the initial trustee and the beneficiary of your trust during your lifetime. You also designate successor trustee(s) to carry out your instructions regarding how to manage and distribute your assets in the event of your death or incapacity.
In order for the Living Trust to function properly, you need to transfer many of your assets to your Living Trust during your lifetime. The fact that it is "revocable" means that you can make changes to it or even terminate it at any time. During your lifetime, you have the same control over your assets held in the trust as you did prior to creation of the trust because you are the creator (“Settlor”) of your trust, the trustee of the trust, and the primary beneficiary of the trust. Thus, you do not lose any control over how your assets are used, spent, invested, or transferred.
Schening & Dopke Law, LLC is located in South Elgin, IL and serves clients throughout Kane, DuPage, DeKalb and Cook Counties and the surrounding areas.
