A must for your estate plan, the will allows you to control the distribution of your property after you pass on.

Wills are valuable estate planning tools.  While many sales people will play up the downsides of the will, it is one of the most cost effective ways to plan for the distribution of your estate. Benefits of wills include:

• Your ability to control the distribution of your assets when you pass away (if you do not choose, the State chooses for you).
• Your ability to nominate someone you trust to handle your affairs in the probate court.
  
• Your ability to nominate a conservator to handle the financial affairs of your minor or incapacitated adult children/loved ones if you pass away when they are still unable to manager their own finances.
• Your ability to nominate a guardian to handle the care, custody, and control of your minor children to assure they grow up the way you intended.
  
• They can be used to establish a long term distribution scheme for loved ones who are not as financially savvy as you would like.
• They are useful for single individuals or married couples.
• They facilitate the probate process and if executed properly, help to avoid or minimize the potential of contests.
• Avoiding disagreements among family after you are gone.

Trusts have been used for thousands of years. Still, they did not become popular estate planning tools until recently.

A trust is a written agreement that names someone to be responsible for managing property for the benefit of others. As far as the law is concerned, a trust is a distinct, separate, entity.

The usual actors of the trust include:

• Settlor or Grantor - You, the person who creates the trust.
• Trustee - Usually you. This is the person who agrees to manage your property as the trust agreement directs.
• Successor Trustee - You can name more than one successor trustee, in order, or even jointly, creating co-trustees who must act together or as you designate.
• Beneficiaries - Those who will receive the income and or principal from the property in the trust at your direction.

For your trust to function properly, your property must be transferred to the trust. Think of it this way. If you purchase a safe for your belongings and you do not put those belongings in the safe, the safe can't work. The same is true of trusts. You must "fund," or to be more specific, re-title your assets into the trust for it to work.

It is a popular misconception that assets funded into a revocable trust are no longer under the control of the trust makers.  Because you are the trustee for your trust, you remain in complete control while avoiding probate and saving time, stress, and cost for your loved ones.

For those of you that already have a trust but are unsure if your assets have been transferred to the trust, Attorney Allan Neef will review your situation free of charge in the initial consultation.