There’s a lot that can go into a Minnesota revocable trust. That’s for sure. The trouble for you, nonetheless, might be where to start. So, to help you get some ideas for crafting your living trust, this article will try to break down four different categories of things that you might in your living trust.
Minnesota Trust law can help you deal with your real estate, your physical assets, your life insurance policies, and your bank accounts. Your will isn’t the only means to redistributing assets, and you don’t have to rely on using an irrevocable trust if you don’t want to. Living trusts are one of the more flexible estate planning tools and can be used in a variety of different matters.
Titling Assets in a Minnesota Revocable Trust
Tangible items fit nicely into a revocable living trust. This can range from a television to your great grandmother’s jewelry. As far as you’re concerned, if you don’t want something in your will, you may want to automatically list it in this document. Personal papers aren’t too small to be placed on this legal document either as you can use this trust to redistribute them as well. Moreover, if you want to make things a little bit easier on everyone, consider using a pour-over will in conjunction with your living trust.
The aforementioned kind of will is not your stereotypical will. It actually serves as a kind of road to your revocable trust. You may not need one should everything be in your living trust, but a pour-over will can be there just in case you forgot something. The thing to keep in mind is that these documents may make people believe that you wanted everything to go into the living trust. That’s how pour-over trusts are normally designed. They’re meant to take all the assets that went unlisted or were forgotten and make it so those assets are treated as if they were always in your Minnesota revocable trust.
Stuff You Can Live In
Your home is a perfect example for this section. You can place it into a living trust regardless of whether or not you still owe money on it. Dealing with debt after you’re gone is another topic entirely, but for now, you might be able to find a way to help your family save money during probate. That’s one of the biggest reasons people use living trusts after all. The person who inherits the property will still have to worry about the house loan, but probate might be easier. So, this trust might help in case you can’t pay it off fully.
To reiterate that, mortgages tend to follow the property. At least, they tend to follow the property when the property is placed into a living trust. This is by no means a kind of debt forgiveness. The person who takes over your real estate still has to pay off it or find a way to get rid of the property. You may want to talk things through with your beneficiaries, both those inheriting real estate and those not inheriting real estate, so that they know the kind of stuff they’re getting into and where they might have to live. If they’ve never owned a house before, seriously consider teaching them at least the basics of what that really means.
Minnesota Revocable Trusts | Life Insurance Policies
On one hand, you might be looking to have your life insurance policy in case your loved one’s need the cash. There’s also the possibility that you’ll want it inside your revocable trust in case someone needs to borrow against it for your sake.
That’s right. You can put your life insurance policy into the trust because someone might need to use it during your incapacitation. It may mean that there’s less money available in your policy over all, but this is your health you’re dealing with. The successor trustee will be able to handle any life insurance policy that you include here. So, keep in mind what that means long term.
This trust might be also how you get the proceeds from your life insurance policy to another party in case no beneficiary is named. You must be mindful, however, of any minor who inherits this money. Leaving money to minor’s is a subject that you may want to directly discuss with your lawyer to ensure that everything’s done right. Of course, a revocable trust can also help avoid probate.
Minnesota Revocable Trusts | Bank Accounts
From your checking to your savings accounts, a living trust might be the means to passing on your money. Most cash accounts should be just fine to include. That said, don’t hesitate to talk with your bank about anything before it goes into the trust. Any Certificate of Deposit will be what you really want to be careful with. Depending on the situation, your actions might convince the bank that you’re doing an early withdrawal. And like life insurance, tampering with these things can mean less money for your beneficiaries.
The nice thing about these accounts is that they tend to be easy to deal with. It’s normally means a bit of paperwork with the bank and getting the trust ready. As a general rule, most estate planning ventures that involve cash accounts normally require doing paperwork with the bank.
Though you may think that putting something in your will or trust makes it legal, your bank may say otherwise. Your bank might be expecting your information before anyone else tries to make a withdrawal from your accounts. They’re probably not expecting your cousin to try and make a withdrawal unless you say something.
Minnesota Trusts and Estates Lawyers
There’s more that you can put into your living trust. And as time goes on, you may even find that you want to change it in a few years. Whatever happens, you can always contact someone by dialing 612-424-0398. Help is available with the Minnesota revocable trust lawyers at Flanders Law Firm LLC.
Whether you’re trying to craft your first trust or you need to update your will, the task shouldn’t be too difficult. Perhaps you’ll find that there’s more that you want to do down the line. Estate planning can be a journey for you, and perhaps it’s best to start that journey by learning a little bit more about trust law. That might be how you get things moving forward.