Is a Revocable Living Trust the Best Way to Provide Asset Protection?

Although a revocable living trust is one of the most commonly recommended by an attorney when you are crafting your will or taking other estate planning steps, you need to carefully consider the own circumstances of your estate to determine whether it’s truly the best fit for you.

The primary purpose of a revocable living trust is to avoid the frustration and expense of probate after you pass away. While this is a worthy goal for your beneficiaries, you need to consider whether a revocable living trust goes far enough if one of your goals is to protect assets. Don’t let your loved ones find out too late that creditors can relatively easily access assets inside a revocable living trust.

Even though the trust is a legal entity, for legal purposes you are established as the owner of the trust assets allowing creditors’ potential access to these assets. If you set up a typical revocable living trust, you will name yourself as the trustee. This gives you complete control over the assets transferred into the trust so that you can take property in the trust, take it out, sell it or give it away without any restrictions. For legal and practical purposes, the property is still yours. Bear in mind though that having control over these assets also means that a creditor might be able to tap into it in the event of a lawsuit.