Have you made any plans to distribute your assets and take care of your family when you die or become incapacitated? If you have, you probably used a will or joint ownership. If you have not prepared a will, the state in which you live has provided for the distribution of your estate assets.

All of these methods and provisions have hazards associated with them which sooner or later will lead to expenses which can deplete your estate, namely probate and estate taxes. You want as much of your hard-earned assets to go directly to your loved ones as possible, without unnecessary costs or delays.

Failing to plan for your estate can mean that the government, rather than your heirs, may get the major portion of your hard-money. Why? Because the top estate tax rate is an astounding 55%! Further, probate costs can take from 5% to 15% of the gross value of your estate, and the probate process routinely takes at least a year, often longer.

Many people are aware of the exclusion of assets up to $600,000 from estate taxes. To most, this appears to be a significant amount. Yet, when you contemplate the value of retirement benefits, life insurance, the value of your home and other assets, you may be amazed at how much you are worth.

It is not effective estate planning to put everything you own into joint title or have a will leaving everything to your spouse. You need to review your total financial position and project what estate taxes and probate costs you, or your loved ones, would pay if you altered nothing.

With A Living Trust You Can:​

1. Avoid all probate delays and related costs – both financial and emotional.

2. Eliminate or reduce estate taxes.

3. Have complete flexibility – the trust can be changed or canceled at any time.

4. Keep control of your assets, even at times of incompetency and after your death.

5. Prevent a conservatorship at physical or mental incapacity.

6. Preserve your privacy – it is completely confidential.

7. Allow for quick distribution of assets to beneficiaries.

8. Save time, money, and future heartache for your loved ones. Trusts are inexpensive, easy to setup and easy to maintain.