Phoenix Revocable Trust Attorney
At the Payne Law Office, we primarily recommend a revocable trust (also known as a living trust or inter vivos trust) as an essential part of your initial estate plan. A Revocable Trust is a type of trust and an estate planning tool used to manage and distribute assets during your lifetime and after your death. You, as the “Grantor” or “Settlor” can change or terminate your Revocable Trust at any time, including adding or subtracting assets from the Trust or changing the terms of distribution, or even changing beneficiaries.
A Grantor (you) transfers assets into the trust during his/her lifetime and appoints a trustee to manage and distribute the assets according to the trust’s terms. Typically, as the Grantor, you serve as the trustee while alive, and then appoint a successor trustee in the Trust Agreement (the document we create that outlines your directions and the Trustee’s responsibilities) to take over when you die or become incapacitated. Your successor trustee can be a surviving spouse, family member, or non-related third party who you trust to follow the directions outlined in the Trust Agreement.
The Revocable Trust helps avoid probate, a court-supervised process that is required to transfer assets upon the grantor’s death. Because the assets are already owned by the trust, they are not subject to probate, eliminating the costs of opening a probate in court and the subsequent required court supervision. Additionally, the Revocable Trust can provide privacy and flexibility in managing the grantor’s assets, as well as help minimize estate taxes.