Answers to Frequently Asked Living Trust Questions
Like a Last Will and Testament, a Living Trust can provide the court with a suggestion as to whom the Grantors would recommend as guardian for minor children.
Standard Legal’s Living Trust legal forms software and documents allow the Grantors to make such a suggestion.
But it is the court that has the ultimate authority for determining who will act as the guardian for a child, based upon the “best interest of the child.”
A Living Trust document that was valid and effective at the time it was executed should be effective in another state.
However, this statement is not intended to suggest that the information or directions contained in your existing Living Trust document are still current; without a full professional review of the Trust documents, it is impossible to know.
No, such a restriction cannot be accomplished through a standard Last Will and Testament. But there may be a somewhat complex solution if such a requirement is truly desired.
Standard Legal’s Living Trust legal forms software package contains Donor-Based Living Trusts.
A Third Party Discretionary Trust is not a highly common Living Trust format frequently used by the general public, and thus not a good candidate for an offering of pro se legal documents.
Trusts are structured with liability in mind, to keep the beneficiaries removed from the assets involved. Most Trusts are set up with personal property assets like land, or homes or vehicles, and their liabilities are somewhat limited. But some trusts hold assets like fully operating businesses, LLCs and corporations. So if a business held by a Trust ‘goes bad’, can the beneficiaries of that Trust become personally liable for any portion of the debt generated by any operational business assets within a Trust — especially if that debt exceeds the value of the assets in the trust?
Remember, ‘Ask Standard Legal’ was created to respond only to ‘questions of fact’ for the legal topics listed at the left. So it follows that we cannot respond with suggestions on how a person might structure something or how to proceed; that’s the very definition of legal advice. You can certainly create an LLC at … Read more
Vehicles can be transferred into a Living Trust so that the Trust holds the title or ownership to the vehicles. Upon the death of the Grantor of the Trust, the vehicle continue to be owned by the Trust and do not need probate court or bureau of motor vehicle approval to transfer title to the beneficiary named in the Trust document.
The abbreviation TTEE is shorthand for the word “Trustee” — the person who executes the terms contained within a Trust.
Typically, there are two options to changing the name on an existing Trust, assuming the existing trust was validly executed and properly funded:
A Living Trust is a written agreement that should, if properly drafted and executed, be valid in any state in which a person resides.
The location of the person’s residence or the location of the assets used to fund the trust are not relevant to its validity. Even if the assets of the original Trust are disposed, the Trust remains valid and is not tied to any specific location.