The Living Trust Advisor

CHAPTER 3 Do You Really Need a Living Trust? Or, Don’t Let Someone Sell You Something You Don’t Need

In Chapter 2, I presented you with the best explanation of the Living Trust you have ever heard in your life. By having the Living Trust described as an “after-death power of attorney,” you now understand that the Living Trust appoints someone—your after-death agent—to sign documents after your death to transfer your assets to the beneficiaries you named in your Living Trust. Lovely!

Okay. So where do we go from here? We continue with a series of questions: So what? Who cares about appointing an after-death agent? Why is that fun? Answering those questions in the order in which they just appeared may give you a better sense of the next steps.

• So what? The Living Trust process will save your beneficiaries thousands of dollars after your death because it prevents them from having to probate your assets.
• Who cares? The beneficiaries you named in your Living Trust care.
• Why is that fun? The money you saved for your beneficiaries by avoiding the probate process will provide them with the additional funds they need for that shopping spree, car purchase, dream trip, or whatever else floats their boats.

The Reasons Why a Living Trust Is a No-Brainer

You may have heard—or you know—that the Living Trust keeps your children (and your assets) from having to go through the probate process after you die. That is the number one reason why people establish their Living Trusts. Without ...