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Introduction to Living Trusts

Read our Living Trust Presentation ONLINE DOCUMENT

Watch Living Trusts Presentation (2024-02) VIDEO

Watch our Living Trust Presentation Overview (2023-06) VIDEO

Read all of the content in the Living Trust folder PROTON DRIVE FOLDER

Use our Master Spreadsheet Living Trust Calculator to calucate the cost and commission GOOGLE SHEET

Read What if your inheritance turns out to be just a pile of bills? ARTICLE

Estate Planning Smarts by Deborah Jacobs BOOK

"I recommend a non-technical but thorough entry-level book that would give them a better understanding of the issues, and just let them feel a little smarter in their initial conversations. There is in fact a perfect book for their needs, and although it has been recommended here before, my sense is that we Spartans are going to be running into more and more of these higher end “mass affluent” prospects, so let me put it out there again to the subscriber base as a whole. It is Deborah Jacobs’ Estate Planning Smarts, which the author keeps constantly refreshed with timely updates on her website. Ms. Jacobs writes a complex subject in the plainest possible English, such that I’ve always thought hers was the only book of its kind we non-specialists ever need." -Nick Murray


Estate & Trust Adminsitration by Margaret Munro eBOOK

As more and more of the population reach senior ages—including baby boomers, many of whom do not have wills — an increasing number of people are being thrust into the role of executor, administrator, personal representative of an estate, or trustee of a trust after the death of a loved one. This book guides you through the confusing process of administering an estate and/or trust.


Benefits of a Living Trust

"A living trust is one of the most loving things you can do for your family." -Gary Fitzgerald

"If you have children and/or own a home, you need a living trust. The 19-year old single dad living in an apartment and the single 60-year old woman with no kids but who owns a home, both need a trust." -Michael

There are only three ways to avoid probate: 1) live forever, 2) don’t own anything, or 3) get a living trust.

An easy way to remember the benefits of a living trusts is PPL.

  • Private: the size and distribution of the estate remains private.
  • Avoids Probate: saves the beneficiaries time, money and hassle.
  • Living Benefits: the client's instructions are followed even he/she becomes incapacitated and difficult decicions are not left to the loved ones.


Living Trusts are Good for Our Business

Living Trusts are one of the most valuable tools we as Advisors have in our arsenal. The benefits to our clients are obvious, but here is why it is important to us and our business:


Your Image

The level of credibility we have with our clients improves dramatically. Very few Advisors discuss probate and wealth-transfer with their customers. A Living Trust makes this conversation easy, and provides an immediate and simple solution, thus elevating your standing as an Advisor.


Discover Hidden Assets

In the process of funding the trust you will undoubtedly discover all of your client's assets, and have cause to move them under your management. "Mr. Client, before we put these assets in the trust, why don't we research to see if we can place them in a better investment..."


Prospecting

Estate planning, probate, beneficiary-protection are "easy" and "safe" topics to talk about. Almost everyone who has a home and/or children welcomes more information about this issue. If you approach with Living Trusts in your prospecting endeavors you will rarely be rebuffed. Try that with insurance or mortgages!


Block "Trust Mills"

If your client doesn't get a living trust from you, they might buy one from "trust mills". These are cheap trusts designed to capture your clients and sell them fixed products, such as cash-value life insurance and index/fixed annuities. Protect your clients from this by making sure they get thier trust from you.


Extra Income

One living trust per month will more than all of your business expenses.


Miscellaneous Tips

  1. Do your research so that you truly believe that your clients need a living trust.

  2. The best sales tool ever is owning what you offer. So, if you need a trust get a trust and tell your clients.

  3. You must be S6 licensed to sell trusts.

  4. My name is at the end of our living trust presentation. This shouldn't be a problem. Just tell your clients this is the presentation from "my manager". If someone ever calls me about a trust whom I don't know, I'll ask them how they found me and if they are your prospect I will obviously send the mback to you.


The Ethos Trust Estate Plan

The Trust Estate Plan is included in most Ethos life insurance plan, so double-check before your client pays for separately the living trust.

This plan will help your client and spouse avoid probate to distribute your assets, document healthcare and financial wishes, and name guardians for children and pets.

Estate plans are individual legal documents. Without a separate plan, a spouse's assets and directives may not be fully protected. Adding a spouse plan helps safeguard both joint and individual assets, ensures their wishes are followed, and prevents future disputes or delays.

It includes:

  • Revocable living trust
  • Schedule of assets
  • Last Will & Testament
  • Healthcare directives
  • Medical consent
  • Power of Attorney
  • Attorney vetted
  • Free lifetimme edits
  • Attorney review. Available for paid Ethos Estate Plans only, not Ethos Perks. Supported in OH, TX, FL, CO, GA, and NJ.


The Process

  1. Have your client go through our Living Trust Presentation.

  2. Once the client is ready, send them the Trust Estate Plan link from your Ethos Agent Dashboard (here's mine).

  3. After they've paid for it they will get an email with the instructions.

  4. Within a few weeks Ethos will mail them their phyiscal trust. Instructions will be included on how to get it notarized and how to process the deed(s).

  5. The client gets the trust notarized.


#8 Funding the Trust

The client nees to fund the and funds the trust: - Real Estate = real property, put ALL property into trust. - Quick Claim Deed must be prepared - can get it done through title company $79 to prepare document and whatever it costs to record to county. - Can create partnership with title company. - Then file at county recorders office - Does not matter if there is a lender. Lender is in first position. - Letters to banks. May have to fill out bank specific form. - Vehicles - DMV, may not be a big deal, If vehicle is in trust name, then don’t have to pay fines. - Life insurance - never change ownership, but you may want to change the beneficiary to the trust. - 80% of trusts are never funded. You have to fund it to have it be legal - otherwise you go to probate. - Change name of accounts at banks to Trust Name.


State's Registrar Offices


Living Trusts Prospecting


One-Page Marketing Pieces


Bread-and-Butter Fundamentals


Living Trust #1: What Is It?


Living Trust #2: Benefits


Living Trust #3: Suze Orman #1


Living Trust #4: Suze Orman #2


Living Trust #5: Wills vs Living Trusts


Land Trusts & LLC


As a Life Insurance Add-On

A client who believes in life insurance (and pays for it) is a great candidate for a living trust.

  1. Close the life insurance first.
  2. Ask your client to do the research before your next meeting. "Mr. Client, we've taken care of your life insurance, so your family is financially okay if you are gone. Next, we need to make sure we hedge against potential legal ramifications by getting you a high quality living trust. So, I'm going to ask you to do some homework and do a little research on your own time. Is that okay?"
  3. Send them the Protection Presentation.


The Best Living Trust Prospects

Propects with homes in more than one state

One fully funded HLT will avoid Probate in every state in which a prospect has a home/property. Without a HLT, each home will have to go through Probate in each state in which the home/property is located.


Prospects with special needs children

A HLT with the Special Needs provision allows the special needs child to draw from his inheritance without putting his state and/or federal assistance at risk. (This Provision is available for an additional $100.)


Prospects with minor children

A life insurance company will not pay a death benefit to a minor, however a life insurance company will pay a death benefit to a Living Trust.

Ask your prospects if they are concerned about making arrangements about who would raise their children if they both were killed in an accident. The HLT solves this problem with a Nomination of Guardian.


Propects with children from previous marriages

A fully funded HLT prevents spouses children from a previous marriage from being disinherited.


Propects that own a business

Since a fully funded HLT avoids public proceedings (Probate). Your prospects competitors will not have access to his private financial information.


Prospects that have a mortage

The cost of probate is based on the gross estate, not the net. With many homes being over-mortgaged, the cost of Probate ends up being a financial hardship on the loved ones left behind.


Propects that value privacy

A HLT is a private document, a Will is written instructions for the Probate court.


Propects that are wanting to leave a loving legacy

Nothing comes close to settling an estate as quick and easy as a fully funded HLT. Let your clients know that their last impression is their lasting impression.


Here's What Is Working for Our Agents

  • Instead of sending his clients to complete the online application, one Agent gets on the phone with his client while on his computer and types in the client's answers. The Agent also completes the credit card transaction online immediately afterwards. This way he knows it gets done.

  • When setting the appointment this Agent asks, "Who else will be there?" This makes the client think and end-up having someone else at the appointment. This prevents the Agent from making presentations without all the decision makers and influencers present.Before one Agent Makes a presentation, he asks if everyone present has listened to the toll-free presentation and/or watched the short video on the HLT website. If everyone hasn't, he dials the toll-free number on his phone, puts it on speaker so everyone starts at the same place.

  • One Agent starts with his own personal experience with the probate he had to go through when his mother passed. He says people just don't know how awful probate is and if he doesn't do his best to help his clients understand that, he couldn't sleep at night.One Agent writes a Living Trust for everyone of his clients. "I couldn't look the surviving spouse in the eye afterwards if I didn't."One Agent invites his prospects parents or children to be there for the presentation. "The children get the financial benefit and many times end-up helping pay for their parents Trust and many buy a Trust for themselves."

  • One Agent kept hearing the same excuse from his prospects,"I want one, but I don't have the money." He would ask if they truly meant that and when they said that was the only reason they weren't buying today, he introduces the $0 money down, no payment, no interest option if paid in full within 6 months, on approved credit. Not everyone gets approved but those that don't get approved most times end-up buying via the installment payment plan.


Living Trusts Objections & FAQs

Response to "online" and "cheap" living trusts.

This is a valid question and I hope provide a satisfactory answer below.

These kinds of offers have been on the Internet for decades and basically boil down to a semi-scam or Trust Mill. They usually are nothing more than a software program to produce a super cheap, bare-bones set of documents. We have seen them from clients in the past who bought into the offer and then eventually, brought them to us to have us do a real Trust for them. If they are done by an organization of some kind, they often turn out to be a lead generator for after-sale Annuities or Life Insurance, etc.

Your Agent would have done better to call some local Attorneys and ask for pricing on a comprehensive Trust. Had he done that, he would have been quoted a cost that makes our Trust look like a bargain…often $4,000 - $5,000. In addition, let me point out some other deficits:

  1. The Clients have no back-up or support. Who will they turn to when they have questions?

  2. The documents are likely boiler plate and this site includes only 4 basic legal documents.

  3. Are the documents Attorney-Certified? More than likely, the documents are knock-offs of other Trusts they copied… but the Clients will never know what they have.

  4. Who will support and help them with “funding"? Will they even know about funding? An unfunded Trust is no good to them.

  5. What if they need changes? They will have to seek out an Attorney who will charge them $500 to $1,000 for a one-page Amendment. We’ve seen it!

I could go on, but I think I have made the point. Falling for this type of thing is a BAD idea. It’s like shopping at the Dollar Store… you get what you pay for. We have never competed with price shoppers…we simply offer a quality, comprehensive product... and we have prospered well in doing so.

Kind Regards,
Larry, President of Heritage Living Trust


What about the online living trust offers?

There are many options on where to purchase a trust; especially online. However, for something as important as protecting your family's assets and legacy I believe you should consider a professional prepared trust from an established estate planning firm. The living trust I’ve been recommending to my clients for over 15 years (and own) is the most complete I’ve seen, and costs $2,500 (which is on the low-end of professionally prepared trusts).

“Estate Planning starts with a fundamental goal: once you have provided for your own needs, take care of those you love. The legal bill to prepare a trust can run from $2,500 to more than $15,000. It always feel painful to spend money on estate planning because you don’t live to reap the benefits, even if you know your heirs will.“ - Deborah L. Jacobs, from the book 'Estate Planning Smarts' (2015 edition)

Many of the living trusts available online basically boil down to a nothing more than a software program to produce a super cheap, bare-bones set of documents. Some of the things to think about when considering a low-cost living trust:

  • The clients have no back-up or support. Who will they turn to when they have questions?
  • The documents are likely boiler plate and this site includes only 4 basic legal documents.
  • Are the documents Attorney-Certified? More than likely, the documents are knock-offs of other Trusts they copied, but the client will never know what they have. -Who will support and help them with 'funding? Will they even know about funding? An unfunded Trust is no good to them.
  • What if they need changes? They will have to seek out an attorney who will charge them $500 to $1,000 for a one-page amendment.

I could go on, but I think I have made the point. Falling for this type of thing is a BAD idea. It’s like shopping at the Dollar Store… you get what you pay for. We have never competed with price shoppers…we simply offer a quality, comprehensive product... and we have prospered well in doing so.


Non-US Person as Executor, Custodian etc.

Yes, a non-citizen can serve in those capacities.


Under 18 as beneficiary

We list children of ALL ages as Beneficiaries all the time. I just shipped a Trust today where the Beneficiary was a 5 month old baby. They can even receive 100% of the estate. There’s no problem listing the child, the issue is that the child cannot receive an inheritance while underage. So if they list them, they also have to write stipulations regarding when and how they are to receive the inheritance. For example, "the funds should remain in Trust until the child reaches the age of 18". Or, they can say "the child should receive ⅓ at age 21 and ⅓ at age 21 and the remainder at age 25". Or, “….some at High School Graduation, some at College Graduation…”, etc.,


What is the difference between A, A-B, A-A trusts?

The “A” trust is for a single individual and the “A-B” trust is for a married couple. A married person can do an “A” Trust just for themselves. That’s totally allowed.

The “A-A” Trust is for Domestic Partners (people who live together, but aren’t married) or gay couples or sometimes even, for example, a mother and daughter (or mother and son, etc.) who have lived together for years, own their property together, have joint bank accounts, etc. The idea is that they live together and have joint assets - those situations can sometimes qualify for he “A-A” Trust. This “Trust” is actually two totally separate “A” Trusts, but its heavily discounted. So where we would normally charge $1,595 (wholesale) for each “A” Trust (totaling $3,190 for two), we combine these two to make the “A-A” Trust, but we only charge $1,995 (wholesale) for both. In this situation, you would have each party fill out their own separate “A” Trust Application, so you would be submitting two Trust Applications for an “A-A” Trust.


I can't afford the trust. It costs too much!

  • There are lots of lower and higher priced Trusts out there. I recommend EDP because they're experts. They have 26 years national experience preparing Living Trusts, and Living Trusts is all they do. Plus, their Trusts come with free lifetime changes and free lifetime support.
  • Not all Living Trusts are created equally! Once we compare trusts, I think you'll see why I recommend EDP. http://heritagelivingtrust.com/storage/sectionbysection.pdf
  • I know, but here's why I believe EDP is the best value at $1,895...Comprehensive Living Trusts, Free Lifetime Changes, Free Lifetime Support, 26 years national experience...
  • Let's compare what you would get for $195 vs. what you get for $1,895 from Heritage. (It's the old Ben Franklin close. You draw a line down the middle of a sheet of paper, write Heritage on the top left-hand side and list everything that comes with the Trust - abstract, schedules, living trust, living will, asset power of attorney, healthcare power of attorney, nomination of conservator, pour over will, funding assistance, quit claim preparation, free changes for the lifetime of the trust, free lifetime support...then on the right-hand side of the page you write $195 and let the client tell you what's included.)
  • $195! Stop me if you've heard this one before...if it sounds too good to be true...let's get together and I'll show you why EDP is the best value!
  • Is it the money or that you don't see the value in getting a Trust?
  • If they really can't afford it, maybe their children can. The children and grandchildren are the ones that are going to benefit financially. Ask them to talk with their children and have their children call you.


Do I lose control of my properties by placing them in a Living Trust?

No. You are the trustee and thus you control all of your assets just as you did before forming your Living Trust.


I Already have a Will.

You need both. You need a "Pour Over Will" that automatically "pours over" into your Living Trust at your death any assets you forgot to put into the Living Trust. All Heritage Living Trusts include a "Pour Over Will". Your old conventional Will, if you have one will be null and void and not needed.


Five Differences Between Living Trust vs a Will

  1. A Will takes you into Probate. A Living Trust Avoids Probate and saves you time and thousands of dollars.
  2. Assets are frozen in Probate Court for six months to 2 years or more. A Living Trust allows these same assets to be distributed within days.
  3. A Will provides no privacy with public Probate Court Proceedings. A Living Trust is a private document and is not made public.
  4. In Probate Court, anyone can contest a Will. A Living Trust is settled without interference and extremely difficult to challenge.
  5. A Will takes effect when you die and has no living benefits. A Living Trust benefits you while you're alive and after you've passed.


What A Will Does Not Do

Most people know that a Will lets you specify who you want to have your assets after you die. But many are surprised to learn what a Will does not do. For example:

A will does not avoid the costs, delays, and publicity of probate. Probate costs can take 3-8% of your assets, or more. It usually takes from nine months to two years to complete the process. And, because probate is a public process, any "interested party" can read your Will; see what you owned, who you owed, and who will inherit which assets. The probate process, not your family, determines how much it will cost, how long it will take, and what information is made public. Also, many people are surprised to learn that a Trust in a Will (called a Testamentary Trust) does not avoid probate. The Will must be probated before the Trust can go into effect.

A Will does not prevent court control of assets at incapacity. That's because a Will can only go into effect after you die. If you become unable to handle your financial affairs (pay bills, make investment decisions, etc.) due to mental or physical incapacity - for example, because of Alzheimer's Disease, stroke, heart attack, or injury - your spouse and other family members cannot automatically step in for you. Only a court appointee can conduct business on your behalf. This ongoing court process can be expensive, embarrassing, time consuming, and difficult to end if you recover. Plus, it does not replace probate when you die.

A Will does not control all your assets. Most jointly owned assets and those with beneficiary designations are not controlled by your Will. When you die, these assets automatically go to the surviving joint owner or person you have named as Beneficiary (assuming, of course, this person is alive, competent, and an adult at that time). This can cause one person to receive more or less than you intended, and can even cause you to unintentionally, disinherit someone.

A Will does not prevent court control of assets left to minors. If you leave assets to a minor child or grandchild in your Will, the court will set up a costly guardianship to "protect" the child's assets until he/she reaches legal age. Including a Trust in your Will can help prevent this, but the Will must be probated before the Trust can even go into effect.


Will property tax on my home go up once I re-title the deed to the trust?

My understanding is that property tax is re-evaluated every time a deed is retitled, but is this the case by moving a home into a trust? Currently, he pays property taxes on his home's value from many years ago, which is much lower than it is today.

Answer

There should be no issue of property taxes increasing simply as a result of a transfer into the REVOCABLE Living trust; these methods are widely recognized and accepted for use in general estate planning. If there were any improvements to the property, that may be an issue for increasing the values. Many areas are now, as a matter of process, re-evaluating properties for tax purposes.

Both you and the client are correct about a tax reassessment upon recording a new deed or change in ownership. However, moving a home into a revocable living trust is one of the exceptions listed on the Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (PCOR) which must be filed with the quit claim deed. This exception keeps a reassessment or increase in property taxes from occurring. Look up Section K on the PCOR for the exception. That should put your client at ease.


Joint ownership vs a Living Trust.

Common Estate Planning Pitfalls

It can happen to you if you own property through joint ownership.

Many older parents list their adult sons and daughters as joint owners on their property (especially real estate and CD's), mainly to avoid Probate when they die. Many mistakenly assume that their adult children will automatically be able to take over for them if they become disabled or incompetent. Most people just do not know how Joint Ownership can lead to Probate.

A Living Trust would have prevented this situation:

Martha had been a widow for just one year when she put all of her property, including her house, into joint ownership with her married son. She did this thinking that when she died her property would automatically go to her son without the need for Probate.

Several years later, her son and his wife separated and Martha decided to sell her house so she could move in with her son. But she soon discovered that she could not sell the house without her daughter-in-law's signature on the deed. The daughter-in-law was still legally married to her son and was entitled by law to a marital interest in the property. The title company would not insure clear title to the buyer without the daughter-in-law's signature because it was not clear what her interest would be.

Her daughter-in-law refused to sign unless she got part of the money when the house was sold. Martha was stuck! She didn't know that joint ownership with a married person can include that person's spouse. And, because Martha had placed her house in joint ownership with her son, Martha lost control of her own home!

A Living Trust would have prevented this situation:

Bill and Gloria are a senior couple who put everything they owned, including their home and stock, in their adult unmarried daughter's name. They believed that when they were both gone this would avoid Probate and all their property would pass directly to their daughter, who was an only child. A year later, Bill died of a heart attack. Several months after that, the daughter was killed in an auto accident.

Gloria never believed she would ever survive her husband and her daughter. To add to her distress, Gloria now owned nothing in her own name. Everything was in her daughter's name! She was forced to Probate her daughter's estate to get back her own property.

During this long process she had to rely on the court to grant her living expenses. Sometimes the court would approve expenses, sometimes not. And, during a declining stock market, she helplessly watched the value of her stocks fall to only a fraction of their previous value because the court could not react in time for them to be sold quickly enough.

Gloria lost her financial independence plus a substantial portion of her assets to Probate just trying to get back what was hers in the first place.


Any problems/issues with putting a living trust as the contingent beneficiary for a IRA?

No, as a matter of fact that's exactly what I do for most retirement accounts because the trust has provisions for contingent beneficiaries who pre-decease the spouse (should the deceased portion go to the surviving contingent beneficiary or to the children? Who will be the conservator if the children are minors and cannot receive the money). I normally name the spouse as the primary beneficiary (because you have to in a community property state) and the trust as the contingent beneficiary.


Can I appoint one of my children as the Trustee for my Living Trust?

Yes, you can. Usually you remain the Trustee during your lifetime and your children take over at your death. You cannot name a minor child as a Trustee.


Actually Living Trusts are legal in any country using English Law. Your EDP Living Trust is valid in any U.S. State. EDP prepares Living Trusts for every state (Louisiana has some special circumstances you'll need to call EDP about).


Can A Living Trust be contested like a Will?

Usually not. A Living Trust contains language that makes it almost impossible to contest, even by an heir. A former spouse also cannot break a Trust, as long as all assets are properly funded into the Trust.


Do I have to file a special tax return for a Living Trust?

No. You continue to file a personal 1040 tax return as you always have, using your social security number. A Living Trust, being revocable, does not need a tax ID number and does not file a tax return of its own until your death. It also does not trigger a reassessment for property taxes when you transfer real estate into it.


Does A Living Trust provide any protection from lawsuits or income taxes?

No it doesn't. A Living Trust is a revocable trust and may be dissolved by you at any time. Since you are in complete control of the Trust and its assets you remain the legal owner of the assets in the trust.


How Federal and State taxes work if I put my business in the Trust?

While grantors (you) are alive a revocable living trust is considered a pass through. Taxes work exactly the same as they do now. It's only once the trust becomes irrevocable (upon the death of one or both grantors depending on options chosen) does the trust have to get a tax ID number and start filing tax returns. However even then it may not have to pay taxes depending on the situation and distributions.


Do I have to put all my bank accounts also in the Trust?

Depends, a guide on how to fund bank accounts is in the funding kit. In short you have a few options, the top two are as follows. You can retitle the bank account into the trust or make the trust payable on death to the Trust. Either option will avoid probate.


Can I or my wife be the trusty of my trust or the trusty should be a different person?

Yes, in fact the default in our system is for spouses to be the initial successor trustee for each other. You should always select an alternate just in case both of you are in the same car/plane/boat when an accident happens. When you don't want your spouse as trustee is if they have a disability that may prevent them from serving (we see this with elderly who may have early stage Alzheimer’s or MS).


What happens to my trust when I and my wife both pass away? Will my kids have to pay taxes to get the money from trust?

There is no negative impact on tax liability for having a trust. The US Government has an estate/gift tax only for estates over $11.4 million in 2019 (per person). A few states have an estate and/or inheritance tax with lower thresholds. These taxes must be paid irrespective of if you have a trust or not. More info is available on our site about this.


Can a I deposit a check in my name into a trust or the check should be in the trust’s name?

Depends on the financial institution and the name of the trust. If your trust is named The Michael Thomas Trust, the checks in your name will probably be fine. However if you name your trust The Silverfox Trust, a teller might not accept it without checking. Talk to your bank about putting your certificate of trust on file so they see you are a trustee or asking them the best way to deal with this under their rules. Alternatively, keep a "clearing account" in your name with a POD (payable on death) to the trust, then move money into your main holding account in your trust name. If you keep decent balances, this should be free and you have the best of both options.


Can I take money from trust any time I want for my personal use?

Yes, the word "revocable" in revocable living trust, means you can do anything you want. For all intents and purposes it’s you. Think of the trust as just an alias for you while you are alive.


Do I have to pay any taxes if I take money from trust?

Nope, until you die, the IRS doesn't consider the trust to be anything but you. It's all under your (and your spouse's) tax ID number.


Will there be any issues if I want to sell my business and the business is in the trust?

Nope. You control all assets just like you do now, the only thing that changes is your title on the signature line. Instead of signing Michael Thomas owner, it's Michael Thomas, trustee for The Michael Thomas Trust.


Do we have to pay any additional taxes like estate taxes on the money in trust?

No.


Are there any downsides to a trust?

Yes, but not for you or your spouse if you keep it up to date. If you are a teenager itching to get a big inheritance and discover you won’t get a big check and can drop out of school, but rather you have to keep your grades up for tuition to be paid; you might think its a downside. If you are the deadbeat spouse of one of your kids and learn that you can't get your hands on your wife's inheritance because it has been restricted only to her and your grand kids, they are probably thinking it’s a big downside. If you are suing your grandchild over a car accident and are itching to get a hold of their trust fund, you will think its a pretty big downside that the spendthrift protections prevent you from claiming it. These are just a few examples.

To sum up, there are a lot of downsides if you don't complete your trust, but by completing your trust, you take control over your legacy and the downsides shift to those who have designs for your estate that go against your wishes.

LLC + Land Trust(s)

Watch Client Case Study: LLC + 4 Land Trusts (2023-03) VIDEO