Many people who create a Revocable Living Trust fail to understand what happens to the trust after they are gone (for more information about types of trusts, see Let’s Talk Trusts). One of the most common misconceptions is what happens to a Revocable Living Trust after the trustmaker or “trustor,” or the person who created and funded the trust, dies. A lot of successor trustees believe, that as long as the trust is fully funded, all that they need to do is collect an inheritance check, pay some taxes, and that is it. However, it really does not take a lot of common sense to figure out that there needs to be more than that, since you are closing and cleaning up the financial affairs of a person’s entire life. (For more on trustee’s duties, See Duties of A Trustee).
Even though probate is not required for a correctly and fully funded trust, the successor trustee of the trust will still have quite a few responsibilities and duties to accomplish before the trust’s beneficiaries can receive their inheritance. Usually, there are taxes to be filed and paid, bills to be paid, paying ongoing expenses of maintaining the real estate of the trust, and selling or auctioning off any property that cannot be liquidated any other way. However much work this seems, this is much better than having a court process where a judge is looking over every bill to be paid, every expense, and holding things up due to court dates needing to be scheduled. Usually the only professionals needed in this process is a good accountant, and sometimes an attorney. Cleaning up and closing a trust is still much faster and cheaper than probate.
If you are interested in getting a trust, or finding out more about how one can help you and your heirs, please call our office today.
