The trustee is the person who will take care of the property. Do Not Sell My Personal Information. To learn more about serving as a trustee, see Nolo's The Trustee's Legal Companion. 2 By Christine Funk, J.D. The information provided on this site is not legal advice, does not constitute a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is or will be formed by use of the site. If they miss the deadline to file, they're out of luck forever. instruct how debts or taxes should be paid. Is a living trust document ever made public, like a will? A "living trust" (also called an "inter vivos" trust by lawyers who can't give up Latin) is simply a trust you create while you're alive, rather than one that is created at your death under the terms of your will. If you run into questions that a self-help publication doesn't answer, you may need to consult a lawyer, but you probably won't need to turn the whole job over to an expensive expert. However, this stipulation means the assets in the trust remain a part of the trust settlor's estate, meaning the individual may still be liable for estate taxes should the estate be valued beyond the estate tax exemption at the time of death. Your use of this website constitutes acceptance of the Terms of Use, Supplemental Terms, Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. However, the large personal exemption and "portability" for spouses make AB trusts largely unnecessary. In a nutshell, probate is the court-supervised process of paying your debts and distributing your property to the people who inherit it. To learn more, read Nolo's article Tax-Saving AB Trusts. A will becomes a matter of public record when it is submitted to a probate court, as do all the other documents associated with probate—inventories of the deceased person's assets and debts, for example. During the grantor’s life, the trust is revocable and taxes are paid by the grantor as an individual, using the grantor’s SSN (Social Security Number). on Nolo.com. No. Generally, after your death, all property you owned—including assets held in a living trust—is subject to your lawful debts. In many cases, the whole process takes only a few weeks, and there are no lawyer or court fees to pay. Still, not everyone has to worry about probate, and some people don't need a living trust at all. The beneficiaries you name in your living trust receive the trust property when you die. With an irrevocable living trust, the settlor relinquishes certain rights to control over the trust. For example, if you acquire property shortly before you die, you may not think to transfer ownership of it to your trust—which means that it won't pass under the terms of the trust document. Trustees with fiduciary duty manage trusts according to the beneficiary's best interests. In some states, the information on this website may be considered a lawyer referral service. Keep in mind that for deaths in 2020, only estates worth more than $11.58 million will owe federal estate tax. A revocable living trust does not normally need its own TIN (Tax Identification Number) while the grantor is still alive. The grantor, also called the settlor, is the person creating it, and the trustee is the person the grantor appoints to manage it. This exemption amount will increase with inflation. For shared property in shared living trusts, the grantors can use either person's SSN. It can be more difficult for creditors to know who inherits other property, however (because a trust document, unlike a will, is not a matter of public record), and they may not bother tracking it down. Most living trusts are “revocable” because you can change them as your circumstances or wishes change. Check out Nolo's article. Your use of this website constitutes acceptance of the Terms of Use, Supplemental Terms, Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. Probate is the court-supervised process of wrapping up a person’s estate. Living trusts can be either irrevocable or revocable. During probate, known creditors must be notified of the death and given a chance to file claims. These laws may not distribute property in the way you would have chosen. An inter-vivos is a fiduciary relationship used in estate planning that is created during the lifetime of the trustor. The big difference is that a will becomes effective only after you die and your will has been entered into probate.