In Florida, there are several possible ways to plan the inheritance, and the living trust is one of the most used due to its high benefits.
What is a Living Trust in Florida, and how does it help Avoid probate in FL?
When planning the inheritance, many things must be taken into consideration, and the first of them is how the person will transmit their wealth to the heirs: the most common ways are by probate, by living trust, or a gift in life.
For its part, to avoid probate is not so simple, but it presents some difficulties, high costs and has some diversifications that must also be considered. Perhaps the Living Trust is the most convenient way to avoid probate in FL.
Inheritance by succession
An inheritance can be without a will or will. In the case of a succession without a will, said the expert, it corresponds that the assets pass to the forced heirs, who are the children in the first place, the spouse concerning their assets, and there being no children, the parents in competition with the spouse.
On the other hand, if the succession is testamentary, the person can freely dispose of a part of their estate. If you have children, what you can freely dispose of is a third of the estate; if you have living parents or a spouse, you can dispose of half of your estate. In turn, if someone is a forced heir with a disability, one-third more of the estate can be disposed of, which would have corresponded to the other heirs in favor of that person with a disability.
From the time point of view, the lawyer believes that, even though it takes longer, a succession may be better than opting for a donation: sometimes, the time required for a succession allows the heirs to settle into their new situation and not leave compulsively to dispose of the goods received.
Make a living trust donation.
What is estate planning? It is the set of strategies that allow a person, whom we call the inheritor, that is, the owner of the estate, to respond to their interests and desires and the needs of their dynamic environment in a framework of equity to the transmission of his patrimony taking into account his mortal condition.
From this point of view, a donation to all the heirs can be considered a whole. That is, the heirs will receive the estate and thus avoid the succession trial, or it can be arranged that each heir receives a specific part of the estate.
Along these lines, the inheritance owner could provide that each of his assets passes to one of his heirs, thereby avoiding the possibility of the heirs entering a condominium, which can be very negative if the relationship between the heirs is not the best.
The donation must be made in a notary’s office, where the title deeds of all assets are taken, and the bilateral donation contract is signed. That is, the assets owners will sign it, and those who will receive the estate.
Part of this donation process will be the reservation of usufruct so that those current owners can rent or eventually occupy the donation assets in question.
The Living Trust system
When the process is extremely complex, instead of resorting to a donation, it is advisable to resort to a living trust: it is a mechanism for the administration and transfer of assets through which a person called a trustor transfers his assets on behalf of a second person. A fiduciary is called to manage the estate for the beneficiary’s benefit.
In this context, upon completion of a given term and with a certain condition, the estate will pass into the hands of the trustee, who is, in a sense, the terminal station of the trust.
Particularly to avoid probate in Florida, the Living Trust’s characteristic is that the trustee can only be a beneficiary. It cannot be either the constituent trustor or the trustee.
