Orange County Living Trust Attorney

Why Choose a Living Trust?

A living trust can be used in place of a will or in combination with a will to pass property after your death. Many people just embarking on estate planning are unsure which path to choose. The best way to make an informed decision is to consult an experienced will and living trust attorney in Orange County.

Your living trust attorney will explain the options in greater detail. The information on this page will give you a general overview of how living trusts work and why a living trust may be beneficial.

What is a Living Trust?

A living trust is a trust you create during your lifetime. The property you plan to pass through the trust is transferred into the trust right away, but you can continue to use it as you please. That’s because when the trust is formed, you play all three roles: grantor, trustee and beneficiary. In other words, you are managing the trust you created for your own benefit. You can take property back out of the trust and use trust funds to pay your bills and buy new property.

When you set up the trust, you name one or more successor trustees and one or more successor beneficiaries. Then, when you pass away, the successor trustee steps in and starts managing the trust for the benefit of the successor beneficiaries. Depending on the terms of the trust, the trustee may transfer the property to beneficiaries shortly after your death or may keep the property in the trust and make payouts to beneficiaries at intervals or based on scheduled milestones like graduating from college or reaching a certain age.

A living trust is revocable, which means you can dissolve the trust or make changes to the terms of your trust for as long as you are alive and legally competent to make such decisions.

What are the Benefits of an Orange County Living Trust?

One key difference between using a will and using a living trust is that a will is administered through a public probate process. That process can be labor-intensive and expensive, and typically takes several months to a year or more to wrap up.

Another important difference is that the grantor of a living trust has much greater control over how property is passed. When you bequeath property to someone through a will, that property passes to them during the probate process and they are free to do with it as they please. On the other hand, property passed through a living trust may be subject to conditions, distributed over time, or limited to specific purposes.

Creating and Maintaining an Orange County LIving Trust

The first step is to have your attorney draft the living trust. Then, you’ll review and sign it. Once the trust has been established, you’ll have to transfer property to the trust. For example, if you have vehicles titled in your name that you would like to have pass through the trust, you will need to transfer ownership of those vehicles to the trust. The same is true for bank accounts, real estate and other property.

Why Do I Need an Attorney for a Living Trust?

First, an experienced living trust attorney is the best source of guidance about the best types of estate planning documents for you, including whether to use a will, trust, or combination of the two.

Once that decision has been made, your living trust attorneys can advise you on how to structure the trust to achieve your goals, whether that means simply passing property after death, setting up long-term support for beneficiaries, creating a schedule or conditions for trust payouts, managing tax consequences or other considerations.

Your living trust attorney can also help ensure that there is no property unaccounted for, both by providing guidance in the transfer of property and by creating a safety net like a pourover will. Your attorney can also work with you to periodically review your estate plan and assist when a living will amendment is required.

Orange County Living Trust Attorneys at Morgan Law Group

At Morgan Law Group, we know how important your living trust and other elements of your estate plan are to your family’s future. We’re committed to helping you find the solution that best fits you and your family, and to help you adjust as your family grows and changes over time.

To learn more about how we can put our experience to work for you, call 949-260-1400 right now.