Frequently Asked Question about Living Trusts
Can I act as my own trustee?
Yes. If you are competent to handle your financial affairs now, there’s
no legal reason why you can’t be the trustee of your own trust. In fact,
most revocable living trusts have the people who created them acting as their
own trustees. If you’re married, you and your spouse can act as co-trustees.
What can I do with my assets once they’re in my Living Trust?
If you’re the trustee, you can do anything you want with the trust assets.
When you set up your revocable living trust, you are transferring the title
of all your assets from you as an individual to yourself as the trustee of
your trust. You then must manage the property for the benefit of yourself
as the beneficiary. What this means is that you will have absolute and complete
control over the assets of your trust. If you want, you can spend, save, invest
or even give the assets away at your discretion. There are no restrictions
on what you can do with the assets in your living trust. Moreover, if you
don’t like the terms of the trust, you can amend it or revoke it at
any time.
Will my Living Trust avoid income taxes?
No. The purpose of creating your living trust is to
avoid probate, guardianship proceedings (if you become disabled), and reduce
or eliminate federal estate taxes. It’s not a vehicle for reducing income
taxes. In fact, if you’re the trustee of your living trust, you will
file your income tax returns in exactly the same way you filed them before
the trust existed. There are no new returns to file and no new liabilities
are created
Disclaimer — This web site is intended, but not promised or guaranteed, to be correct, complete or up-to-date. It is not intended to be a source of legal advice; thus the reader should seek out specific advice, based on the reader's age, assets, state of health, etc. from competent counsel. Ettinger Law Firm does not intend links on this web site to be referrals or endorsements of the linked entities.