Living Trust Forms
Living trust is a very popular way for tax planning and avoiding a probate which is made necessary due to the fact that some state governments have passed laws that the succession of property can only take place after probate.
A probate is basically meant to ensure that if the person who died, owes anything to anyone, those dues must be cleared. In most cases, a probate is nothing more than a formality, an unnecessary yet costly formality. To avoid this, most people form living trust. This way, they also get some tax benefits. Making a living trust is a rather complicated procedure because a number of living trust forms need to be filled in. The living trust forms must be filled with proper care because they are legal documents and if ignored, any mistake in living trust forms can lead to grave consequences.
The Basic Use Of A Living Trust
Estate planning is a tricky concept, but one you have to tackle. The living trust is a key component of most estate planning efforts.
The idea of a Trust began back in the 16th century in England as a way to circumvent the control of the King over property after death. The King had the right to distribute a person’s property after his death and people worried that their estates would not be distributed to their heirs by the King. They would deed their property to another entity, usually the Church, in return for the promise that the Church would distribute it to their heirs according to their wishes. In other words, they were trusting the Church to look out after their interests after their death.
Can My Parents Gift Real Property To Me Directly From Their Living Trust?
Question: I am not sure if this is the place, or if this question can be asked / answered here.
My parents have property / real estate currently held in a trust whereby they are both the Grantor and the Trustee. I am the Successor Trustee.
Is it possible to transfer ‘ownership’ of this property from that trust to me prior to their death?
I am aware there are several methods to do this. However, what we would like to do is simply transfer ownership (not sell), whereby I become the legal owner of this property.