Top Ten Non-Tax Reasons to Plan Your Estate With a Funded Living Trust.

The basic goals of estate planning are to control your estate and affairs, addressing family and personal issues, assuring the right people receive your legacy, with privacy, and minimal delay and intrusion. These planning points are timeless. A will based plan may accomplish some of these goals. A funded living trust based will accomplish them all.

Designate who will manage your affairs if you become disabled and when you pass away – instead of leaving that decision to someone else and requiring involvement of the courts.

Avoid the impact of the legal system on your affairs while you are alive if you become incapacitated.

Keep your affairs simple for your loved ones to handle at your death.

Minimize the time to handle your affairs after your death.

Keep your personal and private affairs just that – private and confidential.

If you remarry, provide for your spouse without having to disinherit your children.

Protect your financial assets from your heirs’ legal predators and creditors – including ex-spouses, and lawsuits.

Address different needs of different children like: (a) providing for any Special Needs without sacrificing eligibility for aid, and (b) helping educate beneficiaries about managing assets.

Protect a portion of your estate if you pass away first and your surviving spouse remarries.

Make sure the right persons inherit and the wrong persons do not.