One of the toughest things you might have to do in your lifetime is plan for the end of your life. It is not an easy thing to come to terms with, to say the least. However, you may be surprised at how much peace of mind estate planning gives you.
Once you have an estate plan in place, you can rest assured that your final wishes will be carried out the way you want. And if you have assets to pass along to your heirs, you can feel good about the fact that you’ve made arrangements for as smooth a transfer as possible.
To this end, you may want to consider using a revocable living trust to pass an inheritance along to your heirs instead of relying on a will alone. Though you may not be as familiar with a revocable living trust as you are with a will, there are a host of benefits you might end up appreciating. Here are a few important ones you should know about.
1. You can speed up the transfer of assets
When you use a will to pass along an inheritance, it has to go through a court process called probate. Trust & Will says that the probate process takes anywhere from six months to two years, on average, for a typical estate. However, if you have a larger estate, it could take longer — especially if someone opts to contest your will. That could be a problem for a few reasons, though.
First, it might cause your loved ones stress on top of the grief they’re experiencing. Secondly, it may be that there are expenses to pay related to your estate until things are settled. The longer it takes your loved ones to get their hands on assets, the more financial stress they might experience at a time when they’re already struggling emotionally.
With a revocable living trust, the process of distributing your assets to your heirs may be pretty smooth — and it could be a lot faster than it would be with a will. What typically happens is that a trustee is appointed to oversee the disbursement of your assets. Your trustee will have to settle all of your estate’s debts, and if there are assets left over, they can then distribute them to the people you’ve designated. All told, the process could be a lot swifter, allowing your loved ones to inherit your assets sooner.
2. You can save your loved ones money
Not only can the process of probate be a giant headache, but there can be significant costs involved. Those costs can eat away at your loved ones’ inheritance, especially if the process drags on.
The nice thing about a revocable living trust is that while it generally costs more to set one up than it does to put a will in place, on the flipside, administering a trust can be far less expensive than probating a will. As a result, you may be able to leave your loved ones with more money.
Remember, too, that when you set up a revocable living trust, an attorney will tell you what costs to anticipate. If you use a will to transfer assets, it may not go through probate for many years. At that point, it’s hard to estimate what costs might ensue.
3. You can protect your loved ones’ privacy
Imagine if someone were to hack into your personal computer and take a look at your financial accounts to see how much money you have. Even if they don’t steal anything, you’ll no doubt be upset about that major invasion of privacy.
If that’s how you feel, then it might shock you to learn that when you use a will to pass along an inheritance to your heirs, as part of the probate process, your will becomes a matter of public record. From there, any person who’s curious enough can see how much money your estate is worth and how much of an inheritance your loved ones are getting.
If that does not sound good to you, then it pays to use a revocable living trust to pass along an inheritance, since it won’t need to go through probate and it won’t become a matter of public record. This way, you can keep the details of your estate private and protect your loved ones in the process.
At Krueger Hernandez & Thompson SC, we understand that estate planning is a delicate and personal matter. We can work with you to create an estate plan that gives you the peace of mind you and your loved ones deserve. Contact us today or call us at (800) 431-9776 to discuss your estate planning needs. We’re here to listen to your concerns and offer guidance so that you’re able to feel comfortable with the estate plan you’ve put in place.
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