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Everything You Need to Know When Creating a Missouri Revocable Living Trust
A revocable living trust is a legal document that holds, protects, and manages your assets. If you live in Missouri, creating a living trust is a great way to ensure your assets are managed according to your wishes after you pass away.
A revocable living trust (RLT) is an estate planning tool used to keep track of your property while you're alive and after your demise. It allows you to transfer ownership of your assets from yourself as an individual to yourself as the trustee of the trust. This means all your assets are held in the trust's name instead of yours.
Once the revocable living trust has been created and funded, it can be managed by you or someone else you appoint as trustee. The person managing the revocable living trust controls all related decisions, including where your property should go and who should receive it.
Here is everything you need to know about creating a Missouri revocable living trust and how to create one.
Why Do You Need a Missouri Living Trust?
There are endless reasons why you may need a living trust in Missouri. But probably one of the most common reasons is that it saves your inheritors from the stressful and lengthy probate process.
It offers the much-needed peace of mind knowing that upon death or incapacitation, all assets will be distributed according to the set terms without going through the costly probate.
This is even critical since Missouri has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code. Probate process in the state is even more intricate, making a living trust a perfect option for avoiding the hassles that come with this.
And still, it is worth noting that Missouri offers a simplified probate process for small estates. With this, you can qualify for a probate shortcut if your estate is $40,000 or less. This means you won't have to worry about a living trust in the long run, and vice versa is true.
Do You Need a Will After Creating a Living Trust?
One of the things you are probably asking is if you will still need a will if you make a living trust. Of course, yes, you’ll still need a will. This is true, especially if you have to assign a guardian to a minor. A trust can never be used to name a guardian to a minor, something only a will can do.
A will is also a key when accounting for a property not transferred to the trust. Typical examples here include when you forget to change the deed on your house. Or when you inherit a property after setting up the trust. A will is a perfect alternative to navigating these situations.
Can a Living Trust Reduce Estate Taxes?
So, can a living trust reduce estate taxes in Missouri? No. Missouri residents don't have to worry about federal estate taxes since tax levies apply to estates worth approximately $12 Million or more.
How to Create a Missouri Revocable Living Trust?
Creating a Missouri revocable living trust is a fairly simple process. First, you must draft a document outlining all the details of how the trust will be managed and what assets should be included.
Next, you must sign the document before two witnesses and have it notarized. Once that's done, any assets previously held in your name must be titled in the name of the revocable living trust so that they can be managed accordingly.
The good news is that you don't have to worry about going through the process yourself. At Forms. legal, we offer all types of downloadable Missouri revocable living trust forms. All you have to do is fill in the free printable templates and download your Missouri revocable living trust.