Living Trusts

A Trust is a fictitious legal entity which owns assets for the benefit of a third person (beneficiary). A Living Trust is an effective way to provide lifetime and after-death property management and estate planning. When you set up a Living Trust, you are the Grantor; anyone you name within the Trust who will benefit from the assets in the Trust is a beneficiary. In addition to being the Grantor, you can also serve as your own Trustee (Original Trustee). As the Original Trustee, you can transfer legal ownership of your property to the Trust. This can save your estate from estate taxes when you die. Just remember that it does not alleviate your current income tax obligations.

There are a variety of Trusts you can set up, which include these common choices: Living Trust, Spendthrift Trust, Bypass Trust (also know as a Life Estate or A-B Trust), Totten Trust and Testamentary Trust. The type of trust available through this service is the A-B Trust, which is designed to let the $1 million tax exemption be used by each spouse.

Through the A-B Trust, the surviving spouse can receive any portion of the decedent's estate free of estate tax. The surviving spouse never legally owns the property within the Trust because it's legally owned by the Trust. The spouse can use the assets and property within the estate with certain restrictions.