When crafting your estate plan, selecting the right trustee stands as a decision with significant long-term impact. The trustee you choose will manage your assets, ensure your instructions are followed, and interact with your beneficiaries. For residents in Reno, NV, understanding how Nevada’s trustee services work can guide you to a choice that preserves your legacy without unnecessary complications. Picking the appropriate trustee can protect your estate and provide peace of mind for you and your family.
Choosing a family member to serve as trustee often seems like the natural choice, but it carries notable risks. One of the main concerns is a lack of expertise; many family members do not have the legal or financial knowledge necessary to manage trusts effectively. Mismanagement can expose the trust to errors or diminished value. Personal liability is another factor: trustees bear fiduciary responsibilities, and mistakes may bring legal repercussions against them personally.
Family conflicts may also arise when a relative is charged with trustee duties. Emotional ties and differing opinions about asset distribution can lead to disputes among beneficiaries and trustees. Such conflicts might prolong the administration process, increase costs, and potentially damage relationships irreparably. Without professional detachment, family trustees might struggle to remain impartial, impacting their ability to manage the trust objectively.
This imbalance between personal interests and fiduciary duty makes relying on family members risky. The lack of formal training combined with family dynamics can delay trust administration and complicate the estate plan's execution. Careful consideration is necessary before relying on a loved one to fulfill this crucial role.
Professional trustees bring many benefits that address the challenges family members may face. Their training and experience ensure expert handling of trust administration, including investment management, regulatory compliance, and accurate record keeping. This competence reduces errors and protects trust assets effectively on your behalf. Additionally, professional trustees maintain objectivity, removing personal biases from their decision-making process.
This impartiality helps prevent family disputes by fostering transparent communication and trust among beneficiaries. Professionals serve all parties fairly and make decisions strictly according to the trust’s terms and applicable laws. Stability is another key advantage. Professional trustee firms are established entities with proven procedures that promote efficiency and continuity in managing your estate.
They are well-versed in Nevada’s evolving trust laws and tax regulations, leveraging those to optimize asset protection and minimize tax exposure. Hiring a seasoned trustee ensures consistent trust administration and experienced oversight tailored to your estate planning goals.
Nevada Trustee Services and Their Unique Benefits
Nevada stands out as a leading jurisdiction for trust management due to its favorable legal framework. A primary advantage includes the absence of state income tax on trusts, which directly enhances the growth potential of the trust's assets over time. This means more of your estate will pass to your beneficiaries rather than state tax authorities.
Strong asset protection laws in Nevada shield trust assets from creditors and legal claims more effectively than many other states. These statutes help preserve your wealth against unforeseen liabilities or disputes involving creditors. Nevada also offers extended duration for trusts, enabling assets to be protected for generations, far beyond limits imposed by other states.
Such benefits create a stable and secure environment for trust administration, providing an additional layer of confidence in your estate plan. Partnering with a trustee familiar with Nevada’s laws maximizes these unique advantages and ensures your wishes are upheld with legal strength.
Decades of combined legal and trust administration experience allow for a comprehensive approach to managing your estate. The team blends deep understanding of Nevada’s trustee laws with a client-focused philosophy that values compassionate service. This balance ensures your trust is administered both efficiently and with careful attention to your family’s needs.
Expertise allows the team to navigate complex issues that arise during trust management, from tax planning to beneficiary communications. Meanwhile, the personalized approach respects your intentions and fosters trust among all parties involved. This dual focus contributes to a smoother process and greater assurance that your estate plan will function as designed.
Clients benefit from clear, ongoing communication and proactive management strategies that address challenges before they escalate. This careful stewardship helps maintain the integrity of your trust and protects your legacy through all stages of administration.
Choosing the right trustee goes beyond a simple appointment—it is a critical step that influences the success and security of your estate plan in Reno, NV. Weighing the risks of appointing family against the advantages of professional Nevada trustee services is essential. Nevada’s unique trust benefits combined with professional expertise create a strong foundation for preserving your assets and fulfilling your wishes effectively.
Schedule a complimentary consultation to discuss how Nevada trustee services can safeguard your estate plan. This conversation can clarify whether a professional trustee fits your specific situation and help you move forward with confidence. You deserve a trustee arrangement that secures your family’s future while honoring your intentions meticulously.
When you finalize a divorce, it marks the end of a marriage but also triggers significant changes in your estate plan. While you may think that once the divorce decree is signed, you're finished with lawyers, updating your estate plan is an essential next step. This process ensures that your wishes are clearly documented and legally enforceable, protecting both your loved ones and your assets. It's crucial to understand how divorce impacts your estate planning to avoid unintended outcomes, such as your ex-spouse or their family inheriting your assets or making decisions on your behalf. As you navigate this process, gathering your divorce decree and any existing estate planning documents is a good starting point.
Your Divorce Decree Changes (But Doesn't Always Fix) Your Plan
Nevada law automatically cancels certain provisions in favor of your former spouse, such as naming them as executor or agent in your will or power of attorney. However, not all designations change on their own. Beneficiary designations on life insurance, retirement accounts, or even joint property ownership may still include your ex. Additionally, any gifts or roles assigned to your former in-laws typically remain valid unless you update them. This means you need to actively review and adjust these documents to ensure they align with your current wishes. Failing to do so could lead to unintended inheritances or decision-making authority for your ex-spouse or their family.
In Nevada, divorce proceedings can be complex, and understanding the automatic revocation of certain estate planning provisions is key. While Nevada law may automatically revoke some bequests to your ex-spouse, it does not necessarily extend to gifts or roles assigned to their family members. Therefore, it's important to carefully review all estate planning documents to ensure they reflect your current intentions. This includes beneficiary designations, which often remain unchanged unless you actively update them. Even if Nevada law revokes certain provisions, it's crucial to reaffirm any intended bequests to your ex-spouse if that is your preference.
Your divorce decree will outline specific changes to your estate, but it doesn't automatically update all relevant documents. For instance, life insurance and retirement account beneficiaries remain unchanged unless you take affirmative action. This means you need to proactively review and adjust these designations to ensure they align with your post-divorce wishes. Additionally, gifts or roles assigned to your former in-laws remain valid unless you explicitly update them. As you work through this process, it's essential to consider the broader implications of your estate plan to avoid unintended consequences. By taking control of these updates, you can ensure that your assets are distributed according to your current wishes.
Understanding the Impact of Divorce on Property Ownership
Your divorce decree will spell out how property is divided, but it also changes how you own it. Assets that were once held jointly may convert to tenants in common, changing what happens when you pass away. Without an updated plan, your interest may pass according to state intestacy laws rather than to those you choose. An estate planning attorney will help you retitle property correctly and ensure your wishes are clear. This process is crucial to ensuring that your property is distributed as you intend, whether that means leaving it to another family member, a friend, or a charitable organization.
In Nevada, property ownership changes significantly after a divorce. Jointly held assets may become tenants in common, which affects how they are distributed upon your death. Without a clear plan in place, your share of the property could pass according to Nevada's intestacy laws, potentially leaving it to unintended beneficiaries. An estate planning attorney can guide you through retitling property and drafting provisions that ensure your wishes are respected. This includes setting up trusts to manage property distribution and ensuring that any property you own is titled correctly to reflect your current goals.
After a divorce, your estate plan should reflect the new ownership status of your assets. This involves not only updating legal documents but also ensuring that property titles are correctly aligned with your wishes. For example, if you now own property as a tenant in common, you should consider how this impacts your overall estate plan. An estate planning attorney can help you navigate these complexities, ensuring that your property is distributed according to your current intentions. By taking proactive steps to update your estate plan, you can avoid the potential for unintended inheritances and ensure that your assets are protected and distributed as you desire.
Updating Your Essential Estate Planning Documents
Divorce may revoke provisions for your former spouse in your will, but it does not necessarily affect gifts or roles assigned to their family members. A revocable living trust should also be reviewed and updated to avoid confusion and ensure that your current wishes are respected. Additionally, financial and medical powers of attorney may have designations that are revoked by divorce, requiring you to notify banks, advisors, and healthcare providers of any changes. Life insurance and retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s governed by ERISA, require affirmative changes to update beneficiaries. This ensures that your assets are distributed according to your current wishes rather than those from your pre-divorce arrangements.
Updating your essential estate planning documents post-divorce is crucial to ensure that your wishes are respected and your assets are protected. In Nevada, while certain provisions related to your ex-spouse may be automatically revoked, others may not. For instance, if you have a revocable living trust, it's essential to review and update it to reflect your current intentions. This includes ensuring that any distributions or roles assigned in the trust align with your post-divorce wishes. Additionally, life insurance and retirement accounts require proactive updates to ensure that beneficiaries are correctly designated.
Your estate plan should be comprehensive and reflect your current circumstances. This includes reviewing and updating your last will and testament, revocable living trust, powers of attorney, and beneficiary designations on life insurance and retirement accounts. By ensuring that these documents are updated, you can avoid unintended outcomes such as your ex-spouse or their family inheriting assets or making decisions on your behalf. An estate planning attorney can guide you through this process, helping you navigate the complexities of Nevada law and ensure that your wishes are clearly documented and legally enforceable.
Why Meet with a Nevada Estate Planning Attorney
An estate planning attorney in Nevada will help you navigate the complexities of updating your estate plan post-divorce. Bringing your divorce decree to your meeting provides essential details about obligations, property ownership, and support requirements that must be addressed in your plan. Professional guidance helps you avoid unintended gifts to an ex-spouse or their family, protects minor children through trusts, and gives you full control over your future. By working with an attorney, you can ensure that your estate plan reflects your new goals and protects your loved ones and assets.
Working with a Nevada estate planning attorney is essential for ensuring that your estate plan aligns with your current wishes and goals. They can help you review and update all relevant documents, including your will, trust, powers of attorney, and beneficiary designations. This ensures that you have full control over who inherits your assets and who makes decisions on your behalf. An attorney can also advise on how to protect minor children through trusts and ensure that your property is titled correctly to reflect your current intentions.
Meeting with a Nevada estate planning attorney provides you with the expertise needed to navigate the legal complexities of updating your estate plan post-divorce. By doing so, you can ensure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes and that your loved ones are protected. This process also helps you avoid potential legal issues that could arise from outdated estate planning documents. By taking proactive steps to update your estate plan, you can have peace of mind knowing that your assets and wishes are secure.
As you finalize your divorce, remember that updating your estate plan is a critical step in securing your future and protecting your loved ones. By gathering your divorce decree and existing estate planning documents, reviewing beneficiary designations, and scheduling a consultation with a Nevada estate planning attorney, you can ensure that your wishes are clearly documented and legally enforceable. This process is essential for avoiding unintended inheritances and ensuring that your assets are distributed as you intend."
Nevada Estate Planning: Why Your Divorce Decree Is the First Step in Updating Your Estate Plan
When you finalize a divorce, it marks the end of a marriage but also triggers significant changes in your estate plan. While you may think that once the divorce decree is signed, you're finished with lawyers, updating your estate plan is an essential next step. This process ensures that your wishes are clearly documented and legally enforceable, protecting both your loved ones and your assets. It's crucial to understand how divorce impacts your estate planning to avoid unintended outcomes, such as your ex-spouse or their family inheriting your assets or making decisions on your behalf. As you navigate this process, gathering your divorce decree and any existing estate planning documents is a good starting point.
Your Divorce Decree Changes (But Doesn't Always Fix) Your Plan
Nevada law automatically cancels certain provisions in favor of your former spouse, such as naming them as executor or agent in your will or power of attorney. However, not all designations change on their own. Beneficiary designations on life insurance, retirement accounts, or even joint property ownership may still include your ex. Additionally, any gifts or roles assigned to your former in-laws typically remain valid unless you update them. This means you need to actively review and adjust these documents to ensure they align with your current wishes. Failing to do so could lead to unintended inheritances or decision-making authority for your ex-spouse or their family.
In Nevada, divorce proceedings can be complex, and understanding the automatic revocation of certain estate planning provisions is key. While Nevada law may automatically revoke some bequests to your ex-spouse, it does not necessarily extend to gifts or roles assigned to their family members. Therefore, it's important to carefully review all estate planning documents to ensure they reflect your current intentions. This includes beneficiary designations, which often remain unchanged unless you actively update them. Even if Nevada law revokes certain provisions, it's crucial to reaffirm any intended bequests to your ex-spouse if that is your preference.
Your divorce decree will outline specific changes to your estate, but it doesn't automatically update all relevant documents. For instance, life insurance and retirement account beneficiaries remain unchanged unless you take affirmative action. This means you need to proactively review and adjust these designations to ensure they align with your post-divorce wishes. Additionally, gifts or roles assigned to your former in-laws remain valid unless you explicitly update them. As you work through this process, it's essential to consider the broader implications of your estate plan to avoid unintended consequences. By taking control of these updates, you can ensure that your assets are distributed according to your current wishes.
Understanding the Impact of Divorce on Property Ownership
Your divorce decree will spell out how property is divided, but it also changes how you own it. Assets that were once held jointly may convert to tenants in common, changing what happens when you pass away. Without an updated plan, your interest may pass according to state intestacy laws rather than to those you choose. An estate planning attorney will help you retitle property correctly and ensure your wishes are clear. This process is crucial to ensuring that your property is distributed as you intend, whether that means leaving it to another family member, a friend, or a charitable organization.
In Nevada, property ownership changes significantly after a divorce. Jointly held assets may become tenants in common, which affects how they are distributed upon your death. Without a clear plan in place, your share of the property could pass according to Nevada's intestacy laws, potentially leaving it to unintended beneficiaries. An estate planning attorney can guide you through retitling property and drafting provisions that ensure your wishes are respected. This includes setting up trusts to manage property distribution and ensuring that any property you own is titled correctly to reflect your current goals.
After a divorce, your estate plan should reflect the new ownership status of your assets. This involves not only updating legal documents but also ensuring that property titles are correctly aligned with your wishes. For example, if you now own property as a tenant in common, you should consider how this impacts your overall estate plan. An estate planning attorney can help you navigate these complexities, ensuring that your property is distributed according to your current intentions. By taking proactive steps to update your estate plan, you can avoid the potential for unintended inheritances and ensure that your assets are protected and distributed as you desire.
Updating Your Essential Estate Planning Documents
Divorce may revoke provisions for your former spouse in your will, but it does not necessarily affect gifts or roles assigned to their family members. A revocable living trust should also be reviewed and updated to avoid confusion and ensure that your current wishes are respected. Additionally, financial and medical powers of attorney may have designations that are revoked by divorce, requiring you to notify banks, advisors, and healthcare providers of any changes. Life insurance and retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s governed by ERISA, require affirmative changes to update beneficiaries. This ensures that your assets are distributed according to your current wishes rather than those from your pre-divorce arrangements.
Updating your essential estate planning documents post-divorce is crucial to ensure that your wishes are respected and your assets are protected. In Nevada, while certain provisions related to your ex-spouse may be automatically revoked, others may not. For instance, if you have a revocable living trust, it's essential to review and update it to reflect your current intentions. This includes ensuring that any distributions or roles assigned in the trust align with your post-divorce wishes. Additionally, life insurance and retirement accounts require proactive updates to ensure that beneficiaries are correctly designated.
Your estate plan should be comprehensive and reflect your current circumstances. This includes reviewing and updating your last will and testament, revocable living trust, powers of attorney, and beneficiary designations on life insurance and retirement accounts. By ensuring that these documents are updated, you can avoid unintended outcomes such as your ex-spouse or their family inheriting assets or making decisions on your behalf. An estate planning attorney can guide you through this process, helping you navigate the complexities of Nevada law and ensure that your wishes are clearly documented and legally enforceable.
Why Meet with a Nevada Estate Planning Attorney
An estate planning attorney in Nevada will help you navigate the complexities of updating your estate plan post-divorce. Bringing your divorce decree to your meeting provides essential details about obligations, property ownership, and support requirements that must be addressed in your plan. Professional guidance helps you avoid unintended gifts to an ex-spouse or their family, protects minor children through trusts, and gives you full control over your future. By working with an attorney, you can ensure that your estate plan reflects your new goals and protects your loved ones and assets.
Working with a Nevada estate planning attorney is essential for ensuring that your estate plan aligns with your current wishes and goals. They can help you review and update all relevant documents, including your will, trust, powers of attorney, and beneficiary designations. This ensures that you have full control over who inherits your assets and who makes decisions on your behalf. An attorney can also advise on how to protect minor children through trusts and ensure that your property is titled correctly to reflect your current intentions.
Meeting with a Nevada estate planning attorney provides you with the expertise needed to navigate the legal complexities of updating your estate plan post-divorce. By doing so, you can ensure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes and that your loved ones are protected. This process also helps you avoid potential legal issues that could arise from outdated estate planning documents. By taking proactive steps to update your estate plan, you can have peace of mind knowing that your assets and wishes are secure.
As you finalize your divorce, remember that updating your estate plan is a critical step in securing your future and protecting your loved ones. By gathering your divorce decree and existing estate planning documents, reviewing beneficiary designations, and scheduling a consultation with a Nevada estate planning attorney, you can ensure that your wishes are clearly documented and legally enforceable. This process is essential for avoiding unintended inheritances and ensuring that your assets are distributed as you intend.
Establishing a revocable living trust is a critical step in creating a well-rounded estate plan. Many individuals assume that setting up a trust automatically helps them avoid the complexities of Nevada probate. However, this isn’t always the case. Simply creating a trust is not enough; you must also ensure that your assets are properly transferred to the trust or have appropriate beneficiary designations.
Anderson, Dorn & Rader Ltd. in Reno specializes in Nevada estate planning. This article explores the essential factors that determine whether a living trust will help you avoid probate, what types of assets are subject to probate, and the consequences of not properly funding your trust.
For a revocable living trust to function as intended and bypass probate, it must be fully funded. Funding your trust involves transferring ownership of your assets—such as real estate, bank accounts, and investments—into the trust or naming the trust as a beneficiary.
For example, if you own property, you need to re-title it in the name of your trust. Similarly, financial accounts that you wish to include in the trust must have the trust named as the owner or beneficiary. Without this step, these assets will remain outside of the trust and may be subject to probate proceedings in Nevada.
Failing to properly fund your trust can negate the primary benefit of avoiding probate, leading to potential delays and additional costs for your heirs. Anderson, Dorn & Rader Ltd. can help you ensure all necessary assets are included in your trust.
Not all assets are automatically exempt from probate simply because you have a trust. Probate is required for assets titled solely in your name without a designated beneficiary or joint ownership agreement. Examples include:
Additionally, assets owned as tenants in common with another person will need to go through probate unless explicitly included in your trust or assigned to a beneficiary. A thorough estate plan accounts for these nuances, helping you avoid unexpected probate proceedings.
Certain assets are not subject to probate and will pass directly to beneficiaries upon your death. These include:
It’s important to ensure that beneficiary designations are updated and reflect your current wishes. Anderson, Dorn & Rader Ltd. offers personalized estate planning services to help align your beneficiary designations with your overall trust strategy.
Even with a well-prepared revocable living trust, if your assets are not transferred or titled correctly, they could still end up in probate. This creates additional burdens for your loved ones, who may need to navigate the probate process while managing your estate.
To address this issue, some individuals include a pour-over will in their estate plan. This type of will directs any unfunded assets to be transferred into your trust during probate. However, relying on a pour-over will is not an ideal solution—it still involves going through probate, which can delay the distribution of assets and increase legal fees.
The best approach is to work with estate planning professionals who can help you avoid the pitfalls of unfunded trusts. Anderson, Dorn & Rader Ltd. in Reno provides guidance on properly funding your trust to ensure that your assets are transferred efficiently and according to your wishes.
At Anderson, Dorn & Rader Ltd., we understand that each estate plan is unique. We take a personalized approach to ensure that your revocable living trust is fully funded and aligned with your goals.
Proper planning reduces the risk of probate and ensures that your assets are distributed smoothly to your heirs. Our team will help you review your trust, update beneficiary designations, and transfer assets as needed to avoid probate complications.
If avoiding probate is a priority for your estate plan, setting up a revocable living trust is only the beginning. You must also ensure that your assets are correctly transferred into the trust or designated with appropriate beneficiaries.
Contact Anderson, Dorn & Rader Ltd. in Reno for expert guidance on funding your trust and avoiding probate. Our personalized estate planning services will help ensure your trust operates as intended, protecting your assets and providing peace of mind for you and your loved ones.
An estate plan consists of several parts and considerations, including a living trust. A living trust is a legal arrangement set up during a person’s lifetime that places their assets into a trust overseen by a trustee. The living trust also determines how the trustor’s assets will be distributed once they pass or become incapacitated. Some factors that may cause someone to create a trust range from tax benefits and avoiding probate to caring for family members with special needs. See how working with an estate planning attorney to create a living trust will help your family.
Avoiding probate is the most common reason for seeking out a living trust. Probate is the courts’ process of proving a will is accepted as a valid document that can be used to effectively distribute assets. There are several reasons in which you would want to avoid probate. The first is that probate can be a costly way to transfer your assets upon death. There are multiple parties that may need to be paid out during a probate proceeding, including the court, which add up quickly.
Probate is also a very lengthy process. It can take six to nine months (sometimes longer) to fully go through probate. There are many factors, documents, and people involved in the probate process, so it’s easy for complications to arise. Problems such as a contested will or an inability to find clear records of all of the deceased's assets and debts can extend this timeline.
Lastly, your probate proceedings will be publicly recorded for the court, meaning your case will become public knowledge and will be available to anyone. This significantly limits you and your family’s privacy which is not ideal during a family member's death.
A living trust provides tax savings to those estates that are subject to estate or gift taxes. There are many types of trusts to choose from, but the most common are irrevocable trusts and revocable trusts. A revocable living trust allows you to make amendments and changes to the documents as necessary, even during the trustor’s life. An irrevocable trust cannot be amended after the document has been signed, but it does offer significant transfer tax benefits that are not subject to the typical gift tax requirements. When you work with us, we'll make sure to align the type of trust with your family's tax-saving needs and other goals.
When it comes to your trust, it’s important for you to understand that a trust only controls assets that are put, or funded, into the trust. Living trusts need to be continually updated to accommodate changes such as marriage, childbirth, home purchases, and tax laws that could affect the trust. With a living trust, the trustor is able to amend the document to reflect their wishes. Because of this, it’s crucial that you work closely with your estate planning attorney to make sure your assets are properly aligned with your trust. This will not only help you get organized, but it will also make things easier for your heirs when you pass away.
Call our office at (775) 823-9455 or visit us online at wealth-counselors.com to schedule a complimentary consultation.
You’ve had your trust documents drafted and signed, now you assume your estate plan is in place and no further action is required. Unfortunately, this is not all that needs to be done to ensure your estate plan is effective. For any trust to have actual value, it needs to be funded.
The process of funding your trust is essential to leave property, cash, and other assets to your beneficiaries. Learn more about trust funding and proper titling below.
Funding is the process of moving assets, such as money and property into the appropriate trust. To fully understand funding, imagine your trust as an empty bucket. The bucket by itself doesn’t offer much usefulness, but once you fill the bucket up, it has a purpose. Trusts function similarly in that they are only useful when they have money or property in them.
The funding process involves retitling your assets in the name of your trust. Bank accounts, property, and any other assets will need to be titled in the trust’s name in order for them to be included in that trust, otherwise, it will remain empty. This can be done in one of two ways:
By doing this, your trust can be easily handed over to a successor trustee to manage in the event of your incapacitation - without the need for court intervention. Your successor trustee will have the right and responsibility to use the assets placed in the trust for you and your beneficiaries while you are unable to manage those things on your own. Fortunately, fully funded living trusts are exempt from the probate process, which provides a superior method of managing the trust for streamlined asset distribution and much more.
To properly fund your trust, you’ll need to work with the financial organizations you bank with to transfer ownership of your accounts into the trust’s name. Any real property you own will also need to be transferred into the trust’s name which may require a new deed to be signed with the correct information. Take a look at some of the common types of property that can be included or funded in your trust:
Accounts including checking, savings, money market, and certificate of deposit (CD) should all be regularly funded to your trust. To do this, you’ll need to work with the bank or credit union in which you have accounts to retitle them into your trust’s name. Commonly, you will be required to provide a certificate of trust that contains information the financial institution will need to complete the transfer. Just be sure that there are no early withdrawal penalties for retitling your CD accounts.
Real estate may refer to your personal residence or another property (commercial, residential, or industrial) owned by you. Real property refers to the interests associated with property such as mineral or timber rights. Both types of property will require the help of an estate planning attorney to prepare the appropriate documents and ensure the property deeds are signed and sealed specifically for your trust.
Investment accounts will also need to be transferred into your trust’s name which can be accomplished through your financial advisor or broker of a custodial account. To do this, a certificate of trust is often necessary for proper retitling of your investments.
Personal effects may include items such as jewelry, furniture, clothing, photos, artwork, collections, tools, vehicles, and more. You can easily move these items into your trust by signing an assignment of personal property.
In regards to your life insurance, it’s best to name your trust as the primary beneficiary of the policy so that the trust has authority over the earnings garnered from said policy. It is then customary to name loved ones or other special persons such as a spouse, partner, or child as secondary beneficiaries. Most insurance companies have processes in place that allow these changes to be made easily. To change the primary beneficiary on your life insurance policy, contact your insurance agent to get the proper beneficiary designation forms filled out and filed.
Retirement assets may include individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and 401k plans. Typically, it is not recommended to transfer ownership of these accounts to your trust due to the serious tax implications they pose for the plan’s owner. Before you assign your trust as the primary beneficiary on your retirement accounts, it’s crucial that you understand the potential tax consequences associated with this plan of action. Fortunately, your estate planning attorney can help you assess these risks and make the most appropriate decision for you.
The most common types of property are listed above, but these aren’t the only assets that you may want to be funded into your trust. To ensure that your legacy goes to the appropriate beneficiaries, and to avoid probate, it’s important to include all of your assets in your trust. Some of the other types of property that should be funded into your trust include:
Your estate plans matter more than you may think. While many people assume they don’t have adequate assets to warrant the need for a living trust or other types of estate plans, this isn’t the case. Reputable estate planning attorneys can help you develop an effective estate plan that safeguards your assets and ensures your legacy for generations to come.
Connect with Anderson, Dorn & Rader today to have your trust documents drafted and titled, and your trusts properly funded. We’ll help you retitle your accounts and ensure correct ownership of your property for an effective estate plan.
Far too many people automatically assume that a last will is the right asset transfer vehicle, but this is a shortsighted perspective. There are many different types of trusts that can be utilized, and some of them are ideal for people that are not extraordinarily wealthy.
The trust that is optimal for the widest array of people is the revocable living trust. These trusts provide several advantages, but we are going to focus on one aspect here.
If you were to use a last will to state your final wishes, the administrator would be the executor that you name in the document. The executor will have to identify and inventory all of the assets that comprise the estate to prepare them for distribution to the heirs.
In some cases, this is complicated because there can be many different ownership documents and financial accounts to run down. Even if it is relatively easy to locate them, it is a daunting administrative task.
During probate, the estate will be probated by the court. This process will typically take at least nine months, even if there are no estate challenges or other unusual difficulties. No inheritances can be distributed during this interim.
When a living trust has been established, the administrator is the trustee. Your trustee can be an individual that you know personally, but there is another option. Trust companies, the trust department of banks, and some law firms will handle trustee duties (including ours).
Granted, there are some costs involved when you use a professional fiduciary, but it can be worthwhile under certain circumstances.
When you fund a living trust, the trust will become the owner of the property. It should be noted that you do not have to put everything that you own into the trust. You would also have total access to trust assets while you are living, so you do not surrender control.
You would act as the trustee throughout your life, and in the trust declaration, you would name a successor trustee to assume the role after you die. When the time comes, it would be simple for the trustee to handle the duties, because all or most of the assets would be contained in the trust.
To account for assets that may be in your personal possession at the time of your death, you can include a pour-over will when you establish your overall estate plan. This type of will would allow your personal resources to be “poured over” into the trust after your passing.
Another aspect of the trust administration process that is very efficient is the avoidance of probate. The trustee would be able to distribute assets to the beneficiaries in accordance with your wishes, and the distributions would not be subject to probate.
If you already know enough to recognize that action is required, we would be more than glad to help. We are well aware of the potential impact of the novel coronavirus, and your safety is our top priority. We are offering consultations by phone or in our office following CDC guidelines. To set the wheels in motion, send us a message to request a consultation appointment or call at 775-823-9455.
A lot of people think that estate planning begins and ends with the financial part of the equation, but this is really not the case. It is also important to address eventualities that you may face toward the end of your life, such as incapacity or incompetency. They are not especially pleasant to consider, but a difficult situation can be much worse if you enter into it when you are completely unprepared.
The population is aging rapidly because of the fact that the baby boomer generation is attaining senior citizen status. Of course, if you plan ahead effectively for retirement, your “golden years” can be full of travel, leisure activities, and quality time with your family.
This is something to look forward to, but once you reach the age of full Social Security eligibility, your life expectancy will be 85 if you are a man, and 87 if you are a woman. The United States Census Bureau has found that the segment of the population that is between 85 and 94 years of age is growing faster than any other.
When you put these numbers into perspective, you can see that there is a very good chance that you will experience life as an octogenarian.
Alzheimer’s disease is a condition that we have all heard about, but when you look into it a bit, its widespread nature is quite surprising. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, one in 10 people that are 65 and older have contracted this disease. It strikes someone every 65 seconds, and by 2050, it is projected that 13.8 million American seniors will be suffering from Alzheimer’s.
This disease causes dementia and incapacity for seniors and come in many different forms. Clearly, the potential for latter life incapacity is something that everyone should take quite seriously.
There are a number of different steps that you can take to prepare yourself for possible incapacity, starting with the creation of a living trust. Many people think that a last will is the right choice as an asset transfer vehicle if you are not extremely wealthy. In fact, a living trust is a better choice for a number of different reasons.
We will cover all of them in a different blog post, but one of the advantages that you can gain if you use a living trust is the ability to prepare for incapacitation. While you are alive, you can act as the trustee of your living trust. In the trust declaration, you can name a disability trustee that would be empowered to administer the trust if you are still living, but incapacitated.
Your incapacity plan could include a durable power of attorney for property, which would give the agent the ability to manage your financial affairs. A durable power of attorney is another document that can be used to address incompetency later in life. This document gives an agent or attorney-in-fact the ability to make legally binding decisions on your behalf. You could execute one of these documents if you don’t have a living trust, and it would be useful even if you do, because you could have property in your personal possession that was never conveyed into the trust. A durable power of attorney for health care decisions should be part of incapacity planning.
In order for the health care agent to be able to make sound decisions, he or she must have access to your medical records. They are kept private unless you sign a HIPAA release form, so this is another piece to the puzzle.
How would you feel about being kept alive indefinitely through the utilization of artificial life-sustaining measures if there was no hope of recovery? You can answer this question through the inclusion of a living will.
If you would like to learn more about all aspects of estate planning, attend one of our upcoming Webinars. There is no admission charge, and you can check out our Webinars schedule page to get all the details.
When you find out all the facts about last wills, you will probably be interested in alternatives. What’s wrong with a will as an asset transfer vehicle? The short answer is that that a will must be admitted to probate, which is a costly, time-consuming legal process. You can also add in a number of other drawbacks that we will cover in a future post.
A revocable living trust would be a better choice for most people. If you are concerned about losing control of assets that you convey into a trust, you can set them aside. You can act as the trustee and the beneficiary while you are living if you create this type of trust, so you call the shots.
In a very real sense, the situation is the same as it would be if you still had all the assets in your own name. Yes, you sign them over to the trust, but you are the trustee with unlimited latitude to do whatever you want to do with the resources. You also have the power to revoke the trust at any time.
For these reasons, a living trust would not be the right choice for people that want to separate themselves from personal possession of the assets for one reason or another. This is done through the utilization of irrevocable trusts of different kinds.
The ultimate point of the trust is to serve as an estate planning device, so you have to account for the events that will take place after you are gone. To this end, you name a successor trustee, and you name your heirs as the successor beneficiaries. Postmortem asset transfers would not be subject to probate, so the drawbacks that we touched upon would be avoided.
Many people would say this is the major benefit, but there are a number of others. When assets have been conveyed into a living trust, the estate administration process is simplified, because the resources are conveniently consolidated.
To elaborate on the consolidation factor, even if you intend to convey assets that will be part of your estate into the trust, you may still have property in your direct possession at the time of your passing. You can account for this through the inclusion of a pour over will. This type of will allows the trust to absorb these assets; they are “poured over” into the living trust.
You can empower a disability trustee to assume the role if you ever become incapacitated, and this is a key feature, because incapacity strikes a very significant percentage of elders. Another benefit is the ability to add a spendthrift clause to protect a beneficiary that may be prone to irresponsible spending.
Like everything else within the realm of estate planning, there is no single answer to questions that people typically ask, because it all depends on the circumstances. When it comes to choosing a living trust trustee, the details make a difference. However, we will provide generalities here.
Legally speaking, the trustee can be any adult that is of sound mind that is willing to assume the role. However, administering a trust is going to require a significant level of financial acumen.
The trustee must have the time that it takes to do the job, and the commitment can be considerable in some cases. You also have to be concerned about conflicts of interest and anticipated longevity. There are certain rules that must be followed under the laws of the state of Nevada, and this is another consideration.
If you don’t know a willing, suitable candidate, or if the administration of your trust is going to be an ongoing, complex task, there is a solution. You could use a corporate trustee like a trust company or the trust section of a bank. When you go this route, a licensed financial professional will be at the helm to manage the trust effectively, and there will be inherent oversight.
We are here to help if you would like to discuss your estate planning goals with a licensed attorney. You can send us a message to request a consultation appointment, and we can be reached by phone at 775-823-9455.
A lot of people look at estate planning as an exercise in slicing a pie into pieces of different sizes. Of course, you have to determine exactly what you would like to leave to each person on your inheritance list. However, there is another dimension that many people do not think about.
You should also consider the life situation of the people that will be receiving inheritances from you when you are gone. In this blog post, we will look at two scenarios that can be addressed in certain effective ways.
Special Needs Planning
If you are going to be leaving an inheritance to someone with special needs, you must consider the impact it will have on government benefit eligibility. Most people with disabilities rely on Medicaid as a source of health insurance. This program is only available to people with limited financial resources.
Clearly, a significant percentage of individuals with special needs cannot work and earn income. There is a program called Supplemental Security Income that provides financial help for qualified people, and once again, this is a need-based program.
Once eligibility is gained, it is not necessarily permanent. A change in financial status can trigger a loss of benefits. For this reason, you have to take the right steps to provide for a loved one with a disability in the ideal manner.
Under these circumstances, you could establish a supplemental needs trust. To implement this strategy, you fund the trust, and you name a trustee to act as the trust administrator. The person with a disability would be the beneficiary.
Medicaid and SSI do not satisfy all the needs of recipients, so assets in a supplemental needs trust could be used to provide goods and services that are not covered by these programs. As long as the trustee acts within the guidelines, benefit eligibility would not be negatively impacted.
Spendthrift Inheritors
Not everyone is good at managing money, and if you are going to be leaving an inheritance to a beneficiary with spendthrift tendencies, you should take certain precautions. One way to address this would be to make this individual the beneficiary of a revocable living trust.
To go this route, you fund the trust, and you can act as the trustee and the beneficiary while you are living, so there is no loss of control. You name a successor trustee in the trust declaration along with your spendthrift heir as the successor beneficiary.
After you die, the trust becomes irrevocable, and the beneficiary would not be able to change the terms or directly access the funds that are in the trust. The trustee would distribute assets to the beneficiary in accordance with your wishes.
So, let’s say that you have income producing assets in the trust. To provide a very simple hypothetical example, the assets earn $60,000 a year. You could instruct the trustee to distribute $5000 to the beneficiary each month, and principal would remain intact to generate income over the long haul.
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We have looked at just two of many different scenarios that can be addressed through custom crafted estate planning strategies. If you would like to access more information on the subject, you are in luck.
Our Reno living trust lawyers go the extra mile to provide educational opportunities, and to this end, they are holding a number of Webinars over the coming weeks. They are being offered on a complimentary basis, but we do ask that you register in advance for the session that fits into your schedule.
You can get all the details and obtain registration information if you take a moment to visit our Webinar page.
At Anderson, Dorn & Rader, we feel a responsibility to do everything possible to make accurate estate planning information available to members of the greater Reno-Sparks community.
Many people don't take action because they don't understand why action is necessary, or where to start. When you become apprised of the facts you are likely going to be motivated to take the appropriate steps for the well-being of those that you love.
There are many ways that we endeavor to make information available including the ongoing informative posts that we consistently offer here on our firm's blog.
We have also developed quite a library of informative estate planning reports that can be downloaded and read at your convenience. Currently we are offering access to our report on living trusts.
Should you be interested in downloading our free report (that is informational in nature rather than being promotional) simply click this link: Nevada Living Trust Report
A living trust can be a very attractive alternative to a last will as a primary vehicle of asset transfer. This is largely because of the fact that these transfers can take place directly between the trustee and the beneficiaries absent the need for probate court supervision.
This free report will provide you with all the details regarding the benefits of living trusts. There is no substitute for sound information coming from a truly reliable source, and we urge you to take advantage of this valuable educational opportunity.
We are available to provide you with information about our free educational Webinars that include a free consultation if you have further questions after you read the report. To register or get more information, simply give us a call at (775) 823-9455 or get in touch through the contact page on our website.
