Revocable Trust Lawyer

Massachusetts offers several trust solutions for you to protect assets, bypass probate, reduce your tax burden, or qualify for Medicaid. One of the most popular options at our law firm for estate planning is the revocable living trust.

At Jordan & White, LLC, we have helped many families plan their legacies for peace of mind. A revocable trust lawyer from our law firm can help you plan to avoid probate, keep assets out of the public record, and maintain flexible control of trust property during your lifetime.

Revocable Living Trust vs. Irrevocable Trust

With a revocable living trust, you can alter or cancel your trust at any time, and you still maintain control of the assets in the trust. In creating an irrevocable trust, you give up control of the property in the trust to the trustee managing the trust, and you can’t cancel or alter the trust after creating and funding the trust.

Irrevocable trusts offer asset protection against creditors or lawsuits during your lifetime, allowing you to protect high-value assets like your home, business, and accounts. The assets in a revocable living trust are still yours, so the trust does not offer asset protection during your lifetime. However, a revocable trust becomes irrevocable upon your passing.

A trust lawyer with our law firm can help you determine the best type of trust for your trust and estate planning needs.

Benefits of a Revocable Living Trust

There are several benefits to creating a revocable living trust that your revocable trust lawyer can explain in more detail, including:

  • Bypasses probate. Probate is the process where the court hears your will and sorts through your assets and debts to pay your final expenses, debts, and taxes. Your beneficiaries must wait until probate ends before receiving what’s left of your assets. All trusts bypass probate, including revocable trusts.
  • Revocable. You can change, amend, or revoke the trust. This is especially useful if you discover a beneficiary develops a drug problem or your children begin having children, and you want to add your grandchildren as beneficiaries.
  • Allows you to maintain ownership. If you want to leave your home to your children, you can put it into a revocable trust to maintain control of the asset. If the home develops problems or you want to sell it, you can remove it from the trust to manage.

Disadvantages of a Revocable Living Trust

While a revocable trust becomes irrevocable upon your passing, there are some potential downsides to choosing a revocable trust, including:

  • No asset protection
  • Doesn’t count for Medicaid asset qualification for long-term care
  • No tax benefits for a revocable trust

A knowledgeable trust attorney with Jordan & White, LLC, can help you decide whether the potential disadvantages are a concern in your situation.

Jordan & White, LLC – Over Ten Years of Estate Planning in Massachusetts

Contact us today at Jordan & White, LLC, for help creating a living trust with an experienced revocable trust lawyer. Call us at 978-744-2811 or contact us online to schedule your initial consultation.