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Revocable Trust Essay

Decent Essays
Revocable Trusts

Perhaps the greatest advantage of setting up a revocable trust is avoiding the probate process. A trust is especially beneficial if you own real estate in more than one state. Without a trust, your loved ones will be faced with probate proceedings in each state you own property in. A trust accomplishes the distribution of assets to your beneficiaries who should receive them. However, a trust is generally considered to possess superior advantages over a probate for several reasons.
A trust provides a private, non-probate administration. The only persons entitled to notice or accounting of trust assets are the beneficiaries. Distribution of trust assets can often be accomplished within a few weeks of the death of the person
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Probate is considered a public proceeding, and literally anyone can read your probate file, and your will once it is filed. A trust doesn’t require being filed with the court, so there is no file for anyone to see.

Drawbacks
Initially, it will cost more to set up a revocable trust than to write a Last Will and Testament. However, in the long run a trust will reduce stress and your family will save money by avoiding probate when you die, and guardianship if you were to become incapacitated or disabled.
Unfortunately, you will still need a will, a special one to cover unfunded assets. If you miss an asset, or die before transferring all your assets into the trust a special will created for this situation will protect them. The will requires probating, but will only cover the unfunded assets. Nevertheless, it is a consideration when your still in the decision process of whether or not to establish a revocable trust.
Contesting a trust may allow a longer period of time than a will. Whereas contesting a will is typically allowed for 30 to 90 days, contesting a trust can be allowed for as long as 5 years depending on the individual states statute of limitations. However, a few states are beginning to change the restriction to less restrictive time
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