-
Complete a Mississippi Revocable Living Trust Form with this Guide
A living trust is a legal agreement you create while still alive, outlining how your assets will be distributed to your beneficiaries. It is different from a will, as a signed living trust ensures your trust assets are passed to the mentioned beneficiaries immediately without going through probate.
A living trust is created by a grantor, the estate's owner. In the Mississippi revocable living trust, the grantor identifies all the assets they put in the trust. They also mention the trustee who will manage the assets after their death.
Additionally, a living trust should have a list of beneficiaries and how the assets will be passed or distributed to the beneficiaries. But the grantor is allowed to manage all the assets in the trust during their lifetime, and the successor trustee takes over after the grantor's demise.
What is a Revocable Living Trust?
A revocable living trust can be altered or changed by the grantor during their lifetime. It allows the grantors to make necessary adjustments according to their wishes. They can as well revoke the entire living trust if they wish.
On the other hand, irrevocable living trusts are cast in stone and cannot be changed once signed. You can create this type of living trust once you are satisfied that nothing can make you change your mind or wishes regarding your estate.
Do You Need a Living Trust in Mississippi?
Creating a revocable living trust is a good thing. It ensures that your wishes are fulfilled after death. It also gives you the power to include the assets and terms of how the trust will be passed to your beneficiaries. No one can alter your living trust, and the successor trustee will ensure your wishes come to pass.
Additionally, when you leave your estate through a living trust in Mississippi, your beneficiaries will avoid the probate process, which is lengthy, costly, and complicated in Mississippi. It will help your family avoid court costs, and legal fees likely incurred during the probable process.
A living trust also ensures that your beneficiaries get their inheritance immediately, saving time. So one can say that between a will vs. living trust, it is better to go for a living trust in Mississippi.
Although Mississippi has yet to adopt the Uniform Probate Code fully, it offers a simplified probate process for small estates. For instance, if your estate is valued at $50,000 or less, your beneficiaries can use an affidavit to get their inheritance. This means you may not need to make a living trust to ensure your estate avoids the probate process.
If You Create a Living Trust, Do You Still Need a Will in Mississippi?
If you make a living trust, you may still need a will if you have a minor child. You will need to write a will to name the guardian of the minor. Also, you may need the will to account for assets yet to be transferred to the trust. For instance, if you have a family home that has not been included in the trust, you can write a will indicating how the house will be shared or used by the beneficiaries.
Can a Living Trust Reduce Estate Taxes in Mississippi?
Having a living trust may not necessarily reduce your estate taxes. Please note that Mississippi does not have estate taxes. But if the assets in your trust are worth more than $12 million, you will have to pay federal estate taxes to the government. But you can use a complicated route to reduce or avoid estate taxes by making an AB trust that passes the trust assets to the surviving spouse.
How Do You Make a Mississippi Revocable Living Trust?
Before you start creating a living trust, you need to know whether you will create an individual or shared trust. After that, you should identify assets to put in the living trust and choose a successor trustee and the beneficiaries.
Are you looking to create a living trust in Mississippi? Forms.legal is the go-to place offering updated forms that you can fill in, download and print.