A primary benefit of creating a Revocable Living Trust is to avoid having your estate go through Probate Court. It’s not something that you do for yourself. Probate is not a hassle for the deceased. Instead, you do it for your loved ones you leave behind. You do not want them to have to go through the expense and delays of Probate.
Since you are already concerned about sparing your loved ones from unneeded trouble, why not take it one step further? One of the biggest problems with handling a deceased person’s affairs, including trustee’s of Revocable Living Trusts, is that it is often difficult to determine what the Trust assets are. Your relatives do not know everything you own. You can make it easy for them. Take some time to write down a list of your assets. You can also make a spreadsheet, if you prefer. This will save your successor trustees time, the very time you were trying to spare them by creating a Revocable Living Trust.
Comprehensive estate plans prepared by experienced and qualified estate planning attorneys will include ways to assist you with these efforts.
You do not have to give the list of your assets to anyone now. Just keep it in a safe place where it can be found when you pass away, and keep it updated. A good place would be a home safe or bank safe deposit box where, coincidentally, your original estate planning documents should also be held. Talk to an experienced and qualified estate planning attorney about other ways that you can make handling your Trust easier for your loved ones.
Timothy P. Murphy
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