Should You Have a Revocable Trust?
At Cushing & Dolan, P.C., we advise nearly all of our clients to establish a revocable trust. Often referred to a "living trust," it is often the best vehicle to ensure your wishes are followed, minimize estate taxes and avoid costly probate.
We provide sophisticated estate planning services, with an emphasis on tax planning, to individuals and families in Greater Boston, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and beyond. Contact us today to learn more about protecting your wealth through the use of revocable trusts.
A revocable trust is called a living trust because you control the assets while you are alive. You can buy and sell assets as circumstances change. You can make amendments to the trust while you are living. The revocable trust contains instructions about distribution of assets upon death, but because the trust holds your assets outside of your probate estate, distributions are made directly to beneficiaries without the need for probate. Our attorneys will prepare a companion "pour-over will" that pours assets into the trust for comprehensive and consolidated administration purposes.
In the case of a married couple, our estate planning and trust attorneys recommend that each spouse has his or her own pour-over will and also either a joint revocable trust or separate revocable trusts. When a married couple has properly drafted revocable trusts, up to $10 million of wealth can be protected from the federal estate tax in 2011 and 2012.
Massachusetts Revocable Trust Attorneys
Our familiarity with the estate tax considerations and structuring living trusts enables our clients to take full advantage of benefits such as:
- Disposing assets according to your wishes
- Changing provisions and beneficiaries as you choose
- Minimizing state and federal estate taxes
- Avoiding the hassles, cost and publicity of the probate process
A revocable trust is a basic tool that every person can use. We serve many clients with moderate to substantial estates who will need additional advanced strategies such as irrevocable trusts to protect wealth from transfer taxes, creditors and probate.
Call 617-523-1555 or contact us online to arrange a free consultation with a knowledgeable lawyer about a customized estate plan.
