Are you Ready to Create a Living Trust? Make Your Checklist

If you are here on this page, there is a chance that you are planning to create a living trust. Living trust forms are used to prepare the estate and the trust then owns and manages the property held by the trust through a trustee for the benefit of the named beneficiary.

Are you ready to create a living trust? Have the following checklist handy:

1. List your assets that you will include in the trust

Make a list of all your assets and include only those that would normally pass through probate in order to take full advantage of the benefits of having a living trust.

1. Gather the paperwork

All of the titles and deeds of the property, stock certificates and life insurance policies may be required to transfer the property into the trust. Collect the papers and have them ready to make the process smooth and quick.

1. Sole grantor or shared trust

You can only put property you own into the trust. So, if you are married or into a domestic partnership, it means much of your property is owned jointly. So, either a shared trust or two individual trusts are the options.

1. Choose beneficiaries

Family members, friends, charities and other organizations that would receive the trust property after your death are called beneficiaries.

1. Choose a successor trustee

A successor trustee is the person who will be in charge of paying debts and distributing your assets according to your wishes upon your death.

1. Trust document creation

Each state has legal statuses that guide how the trust document should be written, hence help should be taken from legal professionals.

1. Sign and notarize

Once the document is prepared, it must be executed according to the state law and notarization of the document is required in most of the cases to attest to the validity of your signature after your death.

1. Fund the trust

A living trust is validated only after the grantor “funds” the trust by transferring assets into it by some specific process that depends on the type of property involved.

Living trust forms are complicated and hence legal help should be taken. AA Document Services offers legal help regarding notary services as per client’s convenience and requirements. Contact them on www.aadocumentservices.com or call on 725-333-2335 for more details.