How Can You Benefit From a Nevada Trust?
When implementing an estate plan, a Nevada living trust is often the foundation. It is used to avoid probate, reduce federal estate taxes, protect beneficiaries from creditors and often from themselves, as well as many other uses. A trust is an extremely flexible tool in the estate planning attorney’s toolbox.
Avoiding Probate
Assets held in a properly funded trust do not pass through probate, which is a long and expensive court process. The trust does not die when you do, so the successor trustee can continue to administer the trust after you pass away, without court involvement.
Estate Taxes
For married couples, trusts can be used to effectively double the federal estate tax exemption, thereby allowing you to pass twice as much to your heirs without having to pay the estate tax.
Asset Protection
While revocable living trusts do not protect assets from the trustor’s creditors, a properly drafted trust will provide asset protection for the trustor’s beneficiaries. Protecting assets from a beneficiary’s potential creditors or future ex-spouse is appealing to most people creating trusts.
Can the Living Trusts be changed?
An important feature of the revocable trust is that it can grow and evolve with you. Life is always changing and as circumstances change, the trust may be amended to meet those changes.
Some trusts are irrevocable and generally may not be amended. However, even irrevocable trusts in Nevada may be amended if certain requirements are met using a process called “decanting.”
What Types of Trusts Are There?
Trusts come in many different shapes and sizes. In addition to the typical revocable living trust, some of the other types of trusts used in estate planning include the following:
Minors Trusts
Trusts are often used to hold assets specifically designed to provide for a child or grandchild’s education.
Charitable Trusts
Charitable Remainder Trusts and Charitable Lead Trusts are commonly used estate tax planning tools when you have charitable intent and a desire to reduce taxes.
Defective Trusts
While not really “defective,” they are irrevocable grantor trusts that are often used as part of an estate freeze technique to reduce estate taxes.
Asset Protection Trusts
Whether an offshore asset protection trust or a Nevada asset protection trust, such a trust is designed to protect a nest egg of asset from future, unknown creditors.
The key is using the right type of trust, whether a revocable living trust or an irrevocable trust, in the right situation. Counseling with an experienced Nevada trust attorney to guide you through the numerous options is important. In addition to trusts, there are several other documents deeded to round out one’s plan.
Call to schedule your trust consultation. (702) 894-4110