This is the year that you get a living trust

It’s getting to be that time of year when we all start thinking about our New Year’s resolutions for 2019. The new year means that you have 12 months to take on new challenges and to embrace new opportunities to make some much-needed changes in your life. Losing weight, eating a healthier diet, spending more time with family friends, and giving up bad habits are all very common New Year’s resolutions. The problem is that we often have a hard time keeping to the resolutions!

But, a very important resolution to make and keep in the new year is to create a living trust. Not only does a living trust make good financial sense for you, but it also protects your family from the time, hassle, and expense of having to go through probate. Additionally, a trust ensures that your estate is divided up and distributed according to your wishes which really helps your family avoid the anxiety and conflicts that often come with settling an estate after the death of a loved one. If you trust is revocable, you can make changes to it right up until the time of death.

If you own a family business, you can also establish a living trust into which you can transfer your ownership interests and property as well as determine how your business will be distributed after your death. These types of trusts can be irrevocable, meaning that they cannot be amended, or revocable. In some cases, upon retirement, an owner can choose to receive income payments from the trust for a specified amount of time. When this time period expires or upon the death of the owner, the remaining assets in the trust are transferred to other trust beneficiaries.

The benefits of setting up a living trust for your business include minimizing the tax burden on your estate, avoiding probate, and preventing your spouse and/or children from having to bear the burden of business debts after you’ve died.

Protection for your family

Setting up a living trust for your family allows you to keep control of your assets and provides an easier way for your family to deal with issues should you become incapacitated. It also allows you to distribute your estate to your children in a more measured and controlled way in order to avoid problems that they may have when it comes to inheriting money.

If your New Year’s resolution for last year was setting up a living trust for your family or your business and you never followed through with it, your New Year’s resolution for next year should be to contact a living trust attorney who can help you make last year’s resolution a reality.

Peace of mind for you

If you live in the San Diego area and want to speak to a living trust attorney about the benefits of a living trust, schedule a free, in-person consultation with the attorneys at the Law Office of David W. Foley. We’ll make sure that you keep your promise about setting up a living trust so you can have a happy New Year.

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