Realty411 Magazine A Spotlight on Charles and Lena Sells | Page 86
Why You Need a
Living Trust
N
obody wants to think
about dying, or what
happens to those whom
you love when they are left
behind. But at whatever age the
sensations of being bulletproof
and immortality wear off, the
weight of family responsibilities
should have you taking action
immediately to ensure future
generations are not unduly
burdened by your death.
A Revocable Living Trust is a
document created while you are
still alive and may be amended or
revoked by you at any time. In
order to best understand how a
revocable living trust can benefit
you, it is helpful to first understand
how a trust operates. A trust is not
an entity, but a contractual
relationship created for the
management and distribution of
assets either during a person’s
lifetime or after their death. A trust
is comprised of four distinct and
separate parts including:
The Settlor, often called a
grantor, is the person who creates
the trust. A settlor determines the
terms and conditions whereupon
assets are to be inherited or
disbursed.
The Trustee is the person who
holds, manages and disburses the
assets of the trust. Trustees have a
fiduciary responsibility to act in
good faith and administer trust
assets in accordance with the terms
and conditions of the trust
agreement.
The Beneficiary is the person
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who is benefited by the trust and
may be a surviving spouse, children,
grandchildren, friends, an individual,
multitudes of people, charities or
businesses. Beneficiaries may
retain management control of the
trust and have the right to receive
assets and profits from the trust.
The Trust is the formal written
agreement and the assets which
comprise the trust or “corpus”
(meaning body). A trust becomes
active, or activated, once it has
been funded. Funding requires the
transference of asset ownership
from the settlor to the trust.
When a Revocable Living
Trust is created, generally you and
your spouse are the Settlor, Trustee
and Beneficiary of the trust while
you are alive (also known as a