About Living Trusts
Making a Living Trust with Nolo's Online Legal Forms
What is a living trust?
You can use a living trust to leave your property to others. You make the trust document, sign it in front of a notary public, and then transfer your property into the trust. During your life you, as the trustee, have complete control over the property in your trust. When you die, the person you named as "successor trustee" passes your trust property to the people you named as beneficiaries.
The main advantage of making a living trust is that, unlike a will, property that passes through your trust does not have to go through probate after your death. This will spare your family the expense and delay of probate proceedings.
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Do I need a living trust?
If you have valuable property, such as a house or large bank accounts, using a living trust to avoid probate may save your family time and money. On the other hand, if you have only a modest estate you may not need a living trust -- a basic will may be enough. Depending on your state's laws, your property may be able to go through simplified probate procedures for "small estates."
For more on living trusts, see the
Estate Planning section of www.nolo.com.
To begin creating your trust, visit the Nolo's Online Trust page at the Nolo website.
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If I make a living trust, do I still need a will?
Yes, you always need a will. A will provides a backup plan for any property that doesn't make it into your trust. For example, if you acquire new property and don't add it to your trust before you die, that property won't pass under the terms of the trust document. You can use a will to name someone to inherit property that you haven't left to a particular person or entity in your trust.
You also need a will to name a guardian for your children.
For more information, or to begin creating your will, visit the Nolo's Online Will page at the Nolo website.
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Are there drawbacks to using a living trust?
The main drawback to a living trust is paperwork. Making the trust document itself is no more difficult than making a will. But unlike a will, you must get a trust notarized, and you must make sure that ownership of all the property you listed in the trust document is legally transferred to you as trustee of the trust.
If an item of property doesn't have a title (ownership) document, you can simply list it on a document called an Assignment of Property. Nolo's Online Legal Forms does this for you when you make your trust.
But if an item has a title document -- real estate, stocks, mutual funds, bonds, money market accounts or vehicles, for example -- you must create a new title document to show that the property is held in trust. For example, if you want to put your house into your living trust, you must prepare and sign a new deed, transferring ownership to yourself as trustee of the trust.
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What other estate planning documents might I need?
In addition to a living trust, you might consider making: a will, a
health care directive (to appoint someone to make health-related decisions if you become too ill to do it) and a power of attorney (to allow a trusted person to arrange your affairs if you can't). Learn more about these documents and how they can help your family at www.nolo.com.
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What do I get with Nolo's Online Living Trust?
When you purchase a Nolo Online Living Trust, you get:
- your living trust document
- an assignment of property
- a certification of trust
- a revocation of trust (for later use), and
- detailed instructions on how to use these documents.
Then you can come back to Nolo's Online Legal Forms to:
- revise your trust (this is called amending and restating your trust)
- create a certification for your trust, or
- create a revocation for your trust.
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What information do I need to make my living trust?
It will be easier to make your living trust if you've gathered some information first:
- an inventory of the property you want to leave through your living trust
- a list of beneficiaries
- a list of alternate beneficiaries
- a list of young beneficiaries who might require property management until they become adults, and
- a list of your first and second choices for successor trustee.
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How long will it take to make my living trust?
You will make your living trust in three stages:
- Make the trust document. Making your trust document could take as little as a few minutes. But a living trust is an important document, so don't rush. Put aside an hour or two to think about your wishes.
- Have your trust notarized. After you make the document, you need to sign it in front of a notary public. It shouldn't be hard to find a notary public near you, or you can have one come to you (this will cost more).
- Transfer property into your trust. How long this takes depends on what type of property you put in your trust. Items without title documents are transferred by the Assignment of Property form that prints out with your trust document. However, items with title documents -- like real estate, cars or stocks -- may take a few weeks to transfer because you must have the title documents changed.
You'll get detailed instructions for finalizing your trust when you print out your trust document.
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How long will you store my personal information?
Nolo stores your personal information for the length of your subscription. During that time, you can return to Nolo's Online Legal Forms to revise your living trust by making an amended and
restated living trust. You can also return to Nolo's Online Legal Forms to print a certification or a revocation of trust at no additional charge.
If you do not want Nolo to keep your personal information, you can delete it at any time.
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What if I want to change something later?
You have access to your Online Living Trust for a year from the purchase date. During that time, you can revise your trust (this is called amending and restating your trust), create a certification for your trust, or create a revocation for your trust.
To access your living trust after you've purchased it, sign in to Nolo's Online Legal Forms at https://nolonow.nolo.com/noe/index.php. On Your Home Page, click on the "edit" link under the name of your trust.
You can't edit your completed document directly -- you'll need to find the document interview screen that has the answer you want to change, make the changes, and then download the revised version of your trust.
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Do I need a lawyer to make a living trust?
Making a trust requires thought and attention to detail, but it does not require a law degree. We'll walk you step-by-step through the process of making your own living trust, giving you help on every screen. And if a situation arises in which you might benefit from the advice of a lawyer or other expert, we'll be the first to tell you.
For example, you should see a lawyer before making your own living trust if:
- you think that you or your spouse may leave assets worth more than $2 million
- you anticipate family fights over your property, or
- you want to set up a long-term trust for a child with special needs.
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What if I have questions along the way?
Nolo's Online Legal Forms provides extensive legal and practical information to help you every step of the way. On the right side of every screen in the interview, you'll see information about the choices you're making right then.
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Why can't I use Nolo's Online Living Trust in Louisiana?
Nolo's Online Living Trust is not appropriate for residents of Louisiana or the U.S. territories.
Nolo does not provide estate planning products for Louisiana. Louisiana's estate planning laws differ significantly from those in the other 49 states. If you have questions about Louisiana estate planning, see a local lawyer.
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What will my completed living trust look like?
To see a sample of a Nolo Online Living Trust, click the link below. Of course, this is just a sample; your document will reflect your property, your circumstances and your state's laws.
Sample trust
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