How to Transfer Assets into a Revocable Trust

Transferring assets into a revocable trust is a relatively simple task. On real estate, bank accounts, and/or securities accounts, you provide a new deed moving the asset from your name into the trust name. But on retirement accounts, a married person should have his/her spouse be the primary beneficiary, so that they can roll over the assets without tax consequences. Your trust would be the secondary beneficiary. If not married, you should put those assetsRead More…

Estate Taxes

Current estate tax law states that you can give away up to $5 million per person. On January 1, 2013, that number was reduced to $1 million. If your estate is over $1 million, you will encounter some significant tax issues. You need to talk with a person who understands estate taxes to look at your estate and tell you what your options are. For many people who have great wealth, giving away $5 millionRead More…

Why do you need to have a revocable trust instead of just putting your assets in joint tenancy?

Putting assets in joint tenancy enables the surviving joint tenant to inherit those assets when you pass away. You can do joint tenancy with bank accounts, real estate, ownerships, and partnerships. The problem, however, with joint tenancy is that the other joint tenant will also own the asset beginning the time you put them into joint tenancy with you. There are tax consequences (i.e. income, estate, property, etc.) that can get quite complex and significantRead More…

What is asset protection?

Sometimes when you’re involved in a high-risk business, you will want to set up your assets in such a way that they’re more likely to not be accessible to your creditors if something goes wrong. This is called an asset protection plan. If you do a good asset protection plan in advance of those liabilities, you have a good chance of them not being subject to claims from outsiders. When people try to set upRead More…

Why not use a joint tenancy?

Joint tenancy is often used by people who wish to transfer their assets to their heirs. When you have a joint tenant asset and a joint tenant dies, the surviving joint tenant inherits their share. If you have three joint tenants and one passes away, the remaining two people each own one half of the asset. The pro that comes with joint tenancy is it helps you avoid a probate. The con is the inabilityRead More…

How do you transfer assets into your revocable trust?

Transferring assets into your revocable trust is a very simple process. A lot of people will forget to do it. On your real estate, you need to make up a new deed, which transfers the asset from your name or your and your spouse’s name into the name of your trust. Everything except your day-to-day checking account should be in the name of your trust. An exception in California is your car. It is relativelyRead More…

When do you use an irrevocable trust?

Irrevocable trusts are a tool that you can use to remove assets from your estate. There are two key purposes for doing this. First, taking assets out of your estate may make it so that they are not eligible for other people to get them. If you’re involved in litigation or high-risk issues, setting up irrevocable trusts to transfer asset ownership to other people (family members or others) is an important thing to think about.Read More…

What is the probate process?

Probate is a legal process where you actually file a petition with court. It is almost like filing a lawsuit, except that theoretically it is supposed to be a positive transaction. You file with the court, you ask them for permission to make an accounting on all the assets in the estate and to sell the assets in the estate off. All the beneficiaries of the estate are notified that a probate is in process,Read More…

What is an insurance trust?

An insurance trust is a specific kind of irrevocable trust that allows you to buy life insurance through the trust. You set up the trust, you set up a separate checking account for the trust, you give money to that checking account, you have to give your beneficiaries an opportunity to take that cash out. There are rules about making a present gift. They are called the “Crummey rules”. Then you buy insurance with it,Read More…

How do I hand out money to my kids?

Handing money out to children is an interesting concept that a lot of people think about and aren’t sure what the answer should be. Generally kids aren’t able to handle money very well until they are in their 30s or sometimes older. The first money that they inherit from their parents disappears because they buy new things or make loans to friends and pretty soon there is not much left. Most of our clients spreadRead More…