Living Trusts have become very popular in part because
certain populous states have expensive and cumbersome estate procedures. If you establish a trust, the assets in the
trust are distributed after your death through a process called Trust Administration,
rather than through a process governed by the probate statutes. This difference is a big advantage in states
with expensive or cumbersome probate processes.
So, in those states, estate planning professional have put a lot of
effort into drafting trust agreements .
Those estate planning professionals have then packaged up their forms
and advertising material and sold them to
attorneys in other states. So, if you
get invited to a free breakfast, lunch or dinner with a promise that there will
be a speaker about Living Trusts, that is what is going on.
Minnesota does not have a particularly cumbersome or
expensive probate process. In Minnesota,
the reasons for creating such a trust include: (i) desiring not to have
information about your affairs in a court file that can be accessed by others;
(ii) owning real estate in more than one state; (iii) being willing to do some
of the work ahead of time so that your loved ones have an easier time after you
are gone; or (iv) wanting to plan for your disability. However, there may be other actions that you
can take that address these concerns.
So, if you are a Minnesota resident,
creating a Living Trust is a personal decision.
Since it takes some effort to establish and maintain the trust, you may
legitimately decide that you do not want to create one.
If you have further questions about Living Trusts, we would
be happy to answer your questions.