Jacksonville Estate Planning Attorney Describes Advantages of a Florida Living Trust
The primary purpose of a Florida living trust is to spare your beneficiaries the delay, publicity and expense of a probate court proceeding. In Florida, a probate court proceeding can take anywhere from 8-15 months, depending on the size of the estate and whether or not a hearing is needed. However, with a Florida living trust, your assets can pass to your beneficiaries without delay, usually within a month or two.
Florida also has a simplified probate process for smaller estates – those less than $75,000 – so if your estate falls into this category, a living trust may be an unnecessary expense.
A living trust also allows you to do disability planning in order to avoid having to set up a guardianship in the future. This alone is a big benefit to setting up a living trust and transferring all of your assets into the living trust.
There are two types of living trusts: revocable and irrevocable. A revocable living trust keeps you in control of your assets while you are still living, and allows you to change beneficiaries, modify the terms or even revoke the trust.
An irrevocable living trust is one you do not control, and it cannot be changed or revoked. However, there are tax benefits to an irrevocable trust that are not available with a revocable trust. Generally, an irrevocable trust is not subject to estate taxes. On the other hand, an irrevocable trust is only available in certain situations.
If you are interested in learning about all the advantages of a living trust, consult a Florida estate and tax planning attorney.
