Seminole Irrevocable Living Trust Attorney
Trusts are a popular tool in Florida estate planning. Many estate planning trusts are revocable, meaning the person who creates the trust (the grantor) is free to revoke or amend the trust at any point while they are still alive. This affords a revocable trust significant flexibility while allowing trust property to pass outside of Florida’s probate process.
There are, however, situations where it may be legally or financially beneficial to create an irrevocable trust. A qualified Seminole irrevocable living trust attorney can advise you on this process. Knudsen Law is a full-service Florida estate and probate firm that assists clients in preparing a wide range of irrevocable trusts designed to help them in their estate planning goals.
Why Would You Need a Florida Irrevocable Trust?
An irrevocable trust is just what it sounds like: It is a trust that, once created and funded, cannot be revoked by the grantor. The two main reasons to create an irrevocable trust are to protect assets from creditors and to reduce potential tax liability. Here are just a few examples of irrevocable living trusts and how they can help you with those objectives:
- Charitable Remainder Trusts: If you wish to leave money or other property to a charitable organization, you can do so by creating an irrevocable charitable remainder trust (CRT). With a CRT, you transfer property to a trustee. You then name another person, such as yourself or a family remember, to receive income from the trust for a specified period of time. When that time expires, the remaining trust property is turned over to the charity.
- Life Insurance Trusts: This is an irrevocable trust that holds ownership of a life insurance policy on the life of the grantor. When the grantor dies, the police proceeds are paid to the trust, not the grantor’s estate, so it is not counted as an asset of the grantor for federal estate tax purposes.
- QTIP Trusts: A qualified terminable interest property trust is an irrevocable trust used by married couples. It effectively allows the couple to postpone any potential federal estate tax bill until after the second spouse dies.
- Special Needs Trusts: If you wish to leave money to help someone who requires government benefits, such as Florida Medicaid, you can do so through an irrevocable special needs trust. The trustee can use the assets in the special needs trust to supplement the beneficiary’s care without affecting their financial eligibility for government benefits.
- Spendthrift Trusts: This is an irrevocable trust used to protect property from creditor claims against a beneficiary. Essentially, you give property to a trustee, who makes distributions to the beneficiary as you direct. So long as the money remains in trust, however, the beneficiary’s creditors cannot file any claims against it prior to distribution.
This is just a small sample of the types of irrevocable living trusts that could benefit your estate planning. Our Seminole estate planning attorney can offer you advice tailored to your specific needs.
A Seminole Irrevocable Living Trust Lawyer Can Help
Working with trusts requires a deep understanding of both state and federal law. That is why you should always work with a skilled Seminole irrevocable living trusts attorney. Contact Knudsen Law today at (727) 398-3600 to schedule a consultation.
