If you want your heirs to get the most from their inheritance, then you need to make sure you have a Living Trust. If you are about to buy a home or already have a home and do not have Living Trust, then I strongly recommend you get one. For most of us our home is our biggest single asset. When you die (hopefully a long, long time from now), then you need to make sure that there no extra expenses that reduce the amount of the inheritance. That is where a Living
Trust comes in.
A Living Trust is critical to reduce the expenses and taxes related to your home going to your heirs. Even if you have a will, this requires probate where the courts still get involved in reviewing the wills and confirming the proper transfer. This means the value can be taxed and probate requires an attorney with fees of 1% – 3% of the value of your entire estate. It will also significantly delay the inheritance. A trust avoids probate completely and lets the house, and any other assets in the trust, go cleanly and quickly to your heirs. That alone makes a trust well worth the time and money to set it up.
There are many law firms in The Villages® area that will create your Living Trust for a very reasonable fee. While they are at it, they will help you create your Living Will as that is still required to list all your wishes. In case you are incapacitated, they also create a financial power of attorney and a health care power of attorney with an advance directive. They will also help you get property title changes and direct you on which other assets to put in the trust. They provide an excellent, low-cost service well below the fees you will probably see outside this area.
There are other excellent reasons to have a Living Trust besides saving money for your heirs. If you want even more, read “Top 8 Reasons to Have a Trust” from TrustandWill.com.