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Living Trusts
A Living Trust is a legal document that enables you
to leave instructions for who you want to handle your final affairs
and how you want your assets distributed after you die. Living Trusts
look a lot like a will but, unlike a will, a Living Trust does not
go through probate (providing privacy concerning assets included
in the living trust), it prevents the court from controlling your
assets if your are declared incompetent, and it gives you (not the
court) control over the assets in the trust that you leave to your
minor children and/or grandchildren.
 A
Living Trust can be revocable or irrevocable (you cannot change
it or take out assets that have been placed in it). When you establish
or set up the trust, you are called the Grantor (sometimes
Settlor or Trustor). You will also name a Trustee
to manage the assets you place in the trust. Many people name themselves,
continuing to handle their affairs as they would have without the
trust. Married couples often establish themselves as Co-Trustees.
In case one of the Co-Trustees becomes incapacitated or dies, the
other instantly has control, without court involvement, of the assets
in the trust.
A Successor Trustee needs to be named in case you
(or both of you in the case of Co-Trustees) becomes incapacitated
or dies. This can be an individual (your adult children or dependable
family friends) or a Corporate Trustee (a bank).
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Joanne Killam
My love affair with the California Symphony began in 1987
with a free concert at the Rheem Theatre in Moraga that introduced
the newly formed orchestra to the public. I was so impressed
that I called and ordered tickets the next morning. I have
been a season ticket holder since and followed the symphony
when they moved to Walnut Creek.
During the summer of 1992, I created my living trust and
decided to make a bequest to the California Symphony. The
orchestra was becoming such an important part of my life that
I wanted to play a role in making sure it would bring joy
to others after I leave this world. And today, 16 years later,
I have never regretted making that decision.
I invite all of you to join in helping to make sure this
great orchestra remains a lasting success. Bequests and other
planned gifts are placed in the Symphony's endowment, where
they will help bring beautiful music to future generations.
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Each type, revocable or irrevocable, has advantages
and disadvantages.
- You see your trust work.
- You avoid probate and the trust can be used to avoid ancillary
probate - that is probate of property in another state.
- You avoid the attendant publicity of probate.
- You will probably save your estate a substantial amount of fees
and costs.
- You can provide for uninterrupted management in case of incapacity.
- You can avoid interruption of management at death.
- It's a good way to pass property to charity and save taxes at
death.
 You
can change your mind.
- Initial cost and trouble of setup. Property must be transferred
to the trust.
- It slightly complicates subsequent dealings with the property.
- It may require payment of an annual trustee's fee if someone
besides yourself is trustee.
- At time of termination, there may be fees.
- There are no immediate tax advantages.
- You see your trust work.
- You observe your trustee in action.
- You avoid probate and court costs.
- You probably will save some fees.
- It is a good way to pass property to charity.
- You save any taxes there may be on the property going to charity
upon your death.
- With irrevocable charitable remainder trusts created while you
are living, you can get an income tax deduction during your life.
 You
may save taxes on capital gains on property placed in a charitable
remainder trust.
- Property must be transferred, so there are initial costs and
energy in setting up the trust.
- You lose all control over the property with most irrevocable
trusts.
- It requires annual fiduciary accounting and possible tax returns.
- It may require payment of annual trustee fees.
- There may be fees at the time of trust termination.
- You can't change your mind and get the property back.
Return to the Glossary.
Please note, individual
financial circumstances will vary. The information on this site
does not constitute legal or tax advice. Donor stories and photographs
are for purposes of illustration only. As with all tax and estate
planning, please consult your attorney or estate specialist. All
material is copyrighted and is for viewing purposes only. Use of
this site signifies your agreement with the terms
of use. The content in this Planned Giving section has been
developed for the California Symphony by Future
Focus. Please report any problems to webmaster.
Revised: April 29, 2008 21:02.
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