Joint Revocable Trust Lawyer Proudly Serving Livonia, Plymouth, Northville, and Surrounding Areas
Joint Trusts are becoming a more common way to transfer wealth between spouses and from generation to generation. A joint trust is generally simple to fund and easy to manage after the trust is created.
Benefits of a Joint Revocable Trust:
A joint trust is the ideal estate planning vehicle for married couples who do not have children from previous relationships. Sometimes referred to as the Ozzy and Harriet marriage.
The benefits of the joint trust option are numerous, but the main ones include…
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Simple to Fund: One of the more complex aspects of a trust is how to fund. Rather than having a trust for each spouse that needs to be funded, a joint trust allows both spouses to fund to a single trust.
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Easy to Manage During Life: Since both spouses are in a position to benefit from all of the trust assets there is no need to monitor the value of the property titled to the trust.
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Easy to Manage After Both Spouses Have Passed or Become Incapacitated: The joint trust is also simpler for the trustee to manage as he or she only has one trust to manage rather than two.
Who are Good Candidates for a Joint Trust?
Married couples who do not have children from previous marriages and who are in a happy relationship are the best candidates for a joint trust. The “American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012” made significant changes to what is commonly referred to as a death tax. The Estate and Gift Tax Exemption is now over $11.5 million per spouse. That means that a married couple would need over $23 million in assets before federal estate tax would come into play. This significant increase has made the joint trust much more popular as a result.
While the joint trust is a good vehicle for most married couples, it is not recommend for individuals who work in high malpractice fields like medical doctors and attorneys. The asset protection is not quite as strong as individual trusts.
The Joint Trust is a great vehicle for estate planning and continues to gain in popularity. While many people can benefit from a well drafted joint revocable living trust, if you still have questions, Matt would welcome the opportunity to sit down together during a free in-office or virtual consultation and discuss the benefits of drafting a joint revocable living trust as part of a comprehensive estate plan.
At Matt Devitt Law, PLC we understand importance of a properly drafted estate plan and the trust that parents place onto us. There are few things in life that are as important as providing for your family and we look forward to doing our part to ensure that a well drafted estate plan is put in place to give you peace of mind that your spouse and children will be taken care after you have passed.
A bit about us – Matt Devitt Law is a full service estate planning law firm located in Livonia, MI. In addition to estate planning we also provide legal counsel for small businesses and off a full suite of real estate legal services as well.
We work with our surrounding communities including Livonia, Northville, Plymouth, Novi, Farmington Hills, and beyond. Our focus is on providing pragmatic value based solutions for your estate planning, small business, and real-estate legal needs. Give Matt a call (734) 335-0713 for a free consult. We are also proud to offer full estate planning services virtually when requested.
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Proudly Serving Livonia and Surrounding Areas