Family Trusts + Revocable Living Trusts

When people think about estate planning, most think of a will… But, a will is often not the best answer!  Forming a living trust is typically the first step we recommend when starting your estate planning.  A Revocable Living Trust (also known as “Family Trusts”, “Revocable Trusts”, “Living Trusts” or "RLTs") is just one type of the many various types of trusts out there - all with different purposes + goals. 

For instance, trusts can help you avoid probate, minimize your exposure to taxes, and maintain control of your property/estate.  Certain types of trusts can also help you protect your beneficiaries from lawsuits and provide asset protection to your surviving spouse and/or children. 

For most of our Nevada and California clients, a living trust is crucial (especially in Nevada, due to the very low threshold of assets ($25K!) that trigger estates to go into Probate Court).  Alternatively, a properly formed and maintained Living Trust can help you avoid probate altogether, as well as help limit costs related to estate administration, and can offer significant savings on estate taxes.  

California + Nevada Estate Planning attorney, Tiffany Ballenger Floyd: 

“Everyone, regardless of their level of wealth, needs estate planning!  Otherwise, your family and loved ones could be left with a mess (at best) and lawsuits to deal with (at worst)… Thankfully, there are lots of ways to avoid a bad outcome by simple and effective planning options."  

From forming a revocable living trust, business planning considerations, to asset protection issues, finding the right estate planning lawyer - that fits YOUR personality and situation - can prove to be invaluable!  At PB Law, our Planning Team, including Nevada trust attorneys Tiffany Ballenger Floyd and Katarina J. Arthur,  strive to make the process efficient and seamless for our clients. 

When you form your Nevada Revocable Living Trust, several things are specifically stated within the Trust document:

1. Initial Trustee: You designate the Trustee (usually you – or in the case of a married couple, usually the husband and the wife are the trustees);
2. Successor Trustee(s):  You designate one or more Successor Trustees, which are persons you’ve designated to step into your shoes upon your incapacity/death, so that they may legally handle the trust’s business.
3.  Lifetime Beneficiaries:   You designate the Lifetime Beneficiary(ies).  If you’re not married, you’re usually the trust’s sole lifetime beneficiary.  If you’re married & create a trust jointly with your spouse, both spouses are typically the lifetime beneficiaries.
4.  Who Gets your Stuff - "Death" Beneficiaries:  You specify who inherits your estate after you pass away. These are the “death beneficiaries”. You can additionally state how the beneficiaries receive their inheritance (outright, %’s at certain ages, in an asset-protection trust, etc.)
5. And Much More ... Trusts can do a lot more than this, such as minimize gift & estate taxes, protect beneficiaries with special needs, provide asset protection to the trust creators (Grantors), and more...  Check out the embedded links for more information on the various types of advanced estate planning options and other types of trusts, such as Nevada Asset Protection Trusts. 

A Revocable Living Trust is the Backbone of your Plan... 

Your Revocable Living Trust (aka "RLT", "Family Trust", "Living Trust") Living Trust is just one component of a comprehensive estate plan – there are many other “ancillary” documents that should almost always accompany your trust, such as:

• Will - (your “Last Will and Testament”, “Pour-Over Will”)
• Power of Attorney (including Nevada Durable Powers of Attorney for Financial Management, Limited Powers of Attorney, Durable Power of Attorney, General Power of Attorney or "POA"). 
• Advance Health Care Directives (AKA "Health Care Powers of Attorney",  “Nevada Health Care Power of Attorney”, “Nevada Advance Directive”), including a HIPAA Release.
• Living Wills
• Guardianship Nomination forms for Care + Custody of Minor Children

(to name a few...).

The PB Law Planning Team walks you through the process, step-by-step, to ensure that your questions are answered and your personal goals are met.  We also breakdown the trust Funding Process, which is the very important process of transferring your assets into your Trust - without these vital transfers, your trust may not work, so we always Focus on Funding! 

Las Vegas Trust Attorneys Tiffany and Kat also handle many aspects of updating current or previous estate plans, including: 

• Trust Amendments;
• Trust Restatements;
• Will Codicils; and
• Ongoing Trust Funding Advice & Assistance

We meet with you personally to discuss your values, hopes, and planning goals, in order to offer you the best options for your specific situation - see below to learn about our unique approach to trust-based estate planning:

The PB Law Planning Process

PB Law's Planning Team attorneys Tiffany and Kat personally design + draft their Clients' plan documents - we don't simply hand work off to a paralegal or assistant.  This way, we can ensure that your estate planning documents are designed and customized to be implemented per each client's specific needs. 

After we design your trust / estate planning docs, we may also undertake a detailed review of your estate as a whole- reviewing the appropriate documents for each of your companies (LLCs / Corporations), if needed, as well as your other financial holdings to ensure they'll be nested within your Plan. During this step, we may also discover other types of planning which could prove beneficial to you  and make other practical recommendations to improve your plan's effectiveness. 

Ready to create - or update - your trust or estate plan?  Give us a call at 702-997-5701, or click here to request a consult!

Estate Planning Attorney Serving Las Vegas, Summerlin, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Boulder City, and areas throughout Nevada and California.  We also assist clients throughout the US and abroad with NV and/or CA trust and entity formation and related services.