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Setting up a living trust is the best way to ensure your assets are passed onto the right people if you pass away. So how do you start the process? In this article, we will walk through the various steps you will need to take to set up a living trust with the assistance of an estate planning attorney.

Many people are afraid of drawing up a will and doing other estate planning because of the perceived high cost. The truth is, drawing up a will is a small cost compared to the cost of probate of an estate if you die without a will and own almost any property.

Trusts are an excellent tool to provide for the future needs of yourself or your loved ones. A trust can be especially beneficial if you have children with special needs, including minor children and adult children with disabilities. You can also create a trust for yourself if you need to apply for Medicaid and your assets exceed the limits to qualify.

If your loved one died without a Will, transferring his or her assets to beneficiaries can be quite difficult. If no action is taken, assets will not be properly transferred and the beneficiaries will have to take some legal action down the road to straighten out the situation. In some cases, a costly determination of heirship proceeding and dependent administration of the estate may be required.

A revocable trust is one that can be completely or partially revoked either during the lifetime of the person creating the trust or afterward. An irrevocable trust means just that: it cannot be revoked.

One of my biggest pet peeves over the years has been the over-selling of living trust packages to folks doing their estate planning. There are definitely times when a living trust is a good estate planning tool. However, for many individuals a living trust is an unnecessary expense.

There are at least six really good reasons for you to have a living trust in your estate planning package.

Two terms are used in the state of Texas to describe a deed that automatically transfers title to real estate you own on your death a transfer on death deed and a Lady Bird Deed (LBD). The distinction between these two deeds is subtle, but very important.

Probate or administration is the legal procedure for settling and transferring a persons estate, including assets and debts. If a person owns property in a different state from that in which he or she lied at death, an ancillary probate or administration in the other state might be necessary. If there was a will, generally, a probate will be proper, and if there was no will, an administration, which is more costly and involved, may be necessary. For ease of reference, I will use the term probate to cover either procedure.

When a loved one dies without a Will, you have two options: determination of heirship or Affidavit of Heirship. These are the steps involved in both proceedings, as well as best practices to follow.