IRREVOCABLE, you mean like forever?!

One of the many tools that compromise an estate plan is the Revocable Living Trust. Trusts provide a wealth of benefits, including some of the following:

·       Greater Privacy: trusts avoid the probate process entirely;

·       Flexibility: trusts allow for greater control of your assets after your death;

·       Tax Savings: for those who are subject to estate taxes, trusts (in general) can provide some tax benefits;

·       Control: trusts allow you to prevent your children or other beneficiaries from hitting the inheritance lottery because you can limit how much a beneficiary receives at different points in their life.

Despite the many great qualities of trust, they are often not for everyone.  Many times, Wills and some creative titling of assets will achieve the same outcomes and goals that many individuals would want to accomplish with trust.

So you’ve decided on trust as part of your estate plan, great! But what happens to the trust after your death?  Two outcomes happen, and it often depends on your situation.  If you are a single individual, your trust becomes what we call “irrevocable” on your death. That simply means that your trust cannot be changed, which preserves your final wishes.  However, if you are a married couple who have a joint trust (meaning one trust co-created by the both of you), your trust may become irrevocable on the death of the first spouse, but it might not.  Michigan law does provide for some flexibility for the surviving spouse to change some, or all, of the trust after the first spouse’s death.  For some couples, this may not be a problem.  However, this kind of flexibility could be a problem in some situations, such as mixed-families. 

While these issues are rare, they do come up. So it is always best to talk with your attorney and consider the different issues that might come up.

If you are interested in learning more about Joint Trusts, when trusts become irrevocable, or if a trust should be part of your estate plan, you can get started by learning more about me and schedule a consultation today.