Elizabeth Taylor seems to have had good estate planning. She, like many others, seek to avoid probate by using a fully funded revocable trust. One of the main reasons people of all means seek to avoid probate is because it is a public process.
Probate is public because your will along with your debts, assets, and beneficiary information are filed at the courthouse. These filings are public, meaning that anyone and everyone can read and copy the contents.
If you’re like most people, you like to keep your family and financial business private.
You likely don’t want your neighbors or strangers knowing how much money you had or what bills you didn’t pay. In addition, if you want to protect your beneficiaries (who are likely your surviving spouse and children), from financial predators, privacy is a must.
A fully funded revocable living trust grants privacy.
To avoid probate and its associated lack of privacy, use a revocable living trust to make asset distributions after your death. Remember, if your beneficiary distributions are in your will, everyone will know about them.
But, having a revocable living trust is not enough. The trust must be funded as well. Funding refers to the transfer of your assets into the trust.
For example, the title on your bank account (and almost all other assets) will be in the name of your trust, not your individual name.
Trust titles look like this: Elizabeth Taylor, trustee or her successors in trust, under the Elizabeth Taylor Living Trust, dated January 1, 2020.
Your estate planning attorney, financial advisor, insurance professional, and banker can help you to fund your trust.
Call our office now at 858-792-5988 to ensure privacy for your loved ones and assets.