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A Will, a Living Will, and a Living Trust are all important legal documents that every adult should have as they are all estate planning documents. Most people have not prepared their estate in the event that something unexpected happens to a member of their family. Only a few people have a Living Trust and there are millions of people in America that do not even have a Last Will and Testament. People do not like to think about death and are not prepared for it. A Living Trust can make things much easier for the family in the event the unexpected happens.

A Living Trust contains instructions to those named in the Living Trust who are asked to carry out the wishes of the person who creates the Living Trust. This person is normally called a "Successor Trustee" or a "Personal Representative." A Living Trust does not fall under the jurisdiction of the local court system and is written to avoid expensive drawn out probate actions when someone dies. The Living Trust provides a tax free transition of assets to the named heirs to the estate as long as the amount of the estate does not exceed the amount of tax exemption established by our governmental estate taxing authorities.

The person who is single or a married couple who are forming the Living Trust make all of the necessary decisions about how their estate will be divided to the heirs they have chosen, and how each one named in the living trust as an heir will receive these assets. They will also make major decisions about matters which relate to their health. This is done while they are alive and healthy so their wishes will be carried out and not the wishes of the family. A sudden death that occurs by an accident or health reasons can often cause hard feeling and disputes among the surviving family over how the estate should be divided. If the person is incapacitated by a stroke, fall, or heart attack, then major health decisions about their health and even burial in the event of death must be made. Who makes these decisions? Who has the legal authority to make these decisions? These decisions are made by the person who creates the Living Trust so that the family is not burdened with major decisions in a time when they are mourning the loss of a loved one.

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