Living Trusts

Bezaire, Ledwitz and Associates gladly offers clients legal advice in all aspects of living trusts. A living trust is similar to a will in that it describes how your property is distributed at the time of your death. During your lifetime, you maintain control over your assets and have the authority to alter your trust. Living trusts are preferable to wills because wills are subject to the federal estate tax and the lengthy, expensive process of probate. Setting up a living trust will keep your estate out of probate and reduce or even eliminate estate taxes.

A trust is a method of holding title to property. The trustor transfers title to assets to the trustee with instructions to hold the assets for the benefit of a beneficiary. In the case of a revocable living trust, which is generally used as an alternative to a will, the trustee and the beneficiary are usually the same person during the trustor’s lifetime. Successor trustees and successor beneficiaries are named in the trust instrument. Holding title in this manner gives the successor trustee the power to transfer title to the assets after the trustor’s death so that title to the trust assets can be transferred to the successor beneficiaries after the trustor’s detah without going through a probate proceeding.

In addition to creating and maintaining trusts, Bezaire, Ledwitz & Associates administers trusts upon the trustor's death or incapacity. We work follow the wishes of the trustor as well as make the process as easy and straightforward as possible for the surving trustees and beneficiaries.

For more information about the various kinds of trusts we offer, please set up a free consultation to discuss it with one of our lawyers.