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Streamline Your Estate Plan by Creating a South Carolina Revocable Living Trust
If you don't have a good estate plan, your heirs will struggle to get a share of the inheritance after death. Although it is usually hard to think about your demise, it is wise to have a plan that protects your inheritors and ensures the inheritance process is easy for them.
You can achieve that by creating a South Carolina revocable living trust. This vital estate planning document allows you to control your assets while alive and dictate how they will be managed and distributed after your death.
When you create this document, you transfer your properties/assets, such as bank accounts, house, real estate, and investments, to the trust. The good thing about a living trust is that you will own and manage it while alive. But after your death, the successor trustee will take over and ensure the trust is distributed to your heirs per your instructions.
A revocable living trust is, therefore, a living trust that can be altered or revoked by the grantor (the person creating the trust).
Do You Need a South Carolina Revocable Living Trust?
Yes, a living trust is an essential document that will allow you to control your assets while alive and dictate what happens to them after your demise. Creating a living trust ensures your estate bypasses the probate process. If you leave a will instead of a living trust, your estate will go through probate, which can take months or even years.
This means your loved ones will wait longer and spend money to get their inheritance. But with a living trust, they will get the inheritance almost immediately and won't need to hire an attorney.
South Carolina has adopted the Uniform Probate Code that simplifies probate processes. As a result, the probate process is much simplified, and you won't have to create an individual or revocable joint trust for a married couple just to avoid probate.
For instance, if your estate is worth $25,000 or less, your heirs can use an affidavit to get it, and it won't go through probate. In addition, if your representative(s) are the sole heirs, the estate can skip probate even without a living trust.
After Making a Living Trust, Do You Still Need a Will in South Carolina?
Yes, you might need a will, depending on your unique situation. For example, if you have not put all your properties and assets in the trust, you will need the will to outline how the property/assets will be distributed after your death.
In addition, if you have children below the age of 18 years, you will need the will to name their guardians.
Can a Revocable Living Trust Lower Estate Taxes?
Although South Carolina doesn't collect its estate taxes, estates worth $12 million or more pay federal estate taxes. If your estate qualifies for federal estate taxes, don't expect the tax you pay to reduce after creating a living trust. But you can use a more complicated trust like AB trust to avoid or reduce your federal estate taxes.
How to Create a Living Trust in South Carolina?
To make a living trust, follow these steps;
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Decide which type of trust to create; a shared or individual living trust
Pick properties and assets to put in the trust
Make a list of trust beneficiaries – the loved ones who will get the trust after your death.
Choose a successor trustee to manage and oversee the distribution of your trust after your demise.
Get a South Carolina revocable living trust form and fill in the required information.
Sign the form in front of a notary official
Transfer the property and assets to the trust
If you want to make a revocable living trust in South Carolina, Forms. legal is here for you. We provide revocable living trust templates, which you can fill in online, download and print when done.