While it’s true that “you can’t take it with you,” careful estate planning with a qualified professional can protect not only the assets that you leave behind but also one of our most valued holdings in the growing Information Age: Privacy.
A Trust is an effective way of holding title to assets and creating tax benefits, but trusts may be created purely for privacy. When assets are distributed according to a will, a Probate court is involved in the process and the Will is public record for anyone to access. With a trust, assets are not subject to Probate and the distribution of those assets is protected from public view.
Probate can also include high court costs and the stress of dealing with lengthy time delays and legal proceedings, with the eventual decisions for your legacy being put into the hands of a judge. If assets are owned in multiple states, this process must be endured in each state. A trust can hold assets in multiple states without the need for ancillary probate. The trustee, according to the instructions of the trust agreement, either distributes the assets immediately to the beneficiaries or holds them in trust until they reach a certain age.
The privacy of a trust can also be an important factor within the family dynamic, leaving the distribution of assets, and information concerning their distribution, at your discretion. This can be a key factor in maintaining family unity and preventing dischord after you are gone.
With careful planning and council, we can provide you with the one thing that you CAN take with you: the comfort of knowing that your family, your estate, and your privacy are protected for generations to come. Call us.