Whether single or married, Standard Legal has some Living Trust options for people with a high value of assets.
A married couple with $10.9 million in assets or less can consider one of the many Trust options available from Standard Legal. The reason for this $10.9 million asset limit has to do with the Marital Tax Credit: if the value of the joint estate does not exceed $10,900,000, there are usually no significant federal estate tax issues to be addressed through the use of a Trust, as the property will generally pass under the marital tax credit.
So for married couples with assets under $10.9M, the options are a Joint Revocable Trust with Property to Children, a Joint Revocable Trust with Specific Gifting, a Married Individual Revocable Trust with Property to Children, and a Married Individual Revocable Trust with Specific Gifting.
For an individual person (non-married), Standard Legal’s Trust options best apply to persons with assets that total under $5.4 million dollars. Up to this asset level, estate taxes have a minimal effect on a Trust after the death of the Grantor individually.
However, for a married couple with assets OVER $10.9M, a more complex tax planning and asset structure should be considered. We suggest a conversation with a professional estate planner or an attorney.
Likewise, for any individual with assets exceeding $5,400,000, a more complex estate plan may be required; a Living Trust would not provide estate tax benefits. (The Living Trust would, of course, provide probate avoidance.)
To create either a Single or Joint Trust, see the Standard Legal’s Living Trust legal forms software page.