Trusts

The revocable, or “living,” trust is often promoted as a means of avoiding probate and saving taxes at death. The revocable trust has certain advantages over a traditional will, but there are many factors to consider before you decide if a revocable trust is best suited to your overall estate plan.

Florida’s trust law does not have a specific procedure for identifying and paying creditors at death. The creditors have up to two years from the decedent’s death to file claims against the estate. The trustee may be reluctant to distribute the trust assets to the beneficiaries until he or she is satisfied that all claims have been paid, and two years is a long time to wait. For this reason, some clients choose to open a probate estate in addition to the trust administration to take advantage of the probate claim process. The probate law limits the time for creditors to file claims against the estate (generally three months from the date of notice), and also provides a process for objecting to claims.

Give Trader Legal a call today at (321) 723-6731 to discuss whether a revocable trust is right for you.