Do We need a "Trust"?
 

My wife and I made out our will 5 years ago when we moved to Florida, and would
like to hear from someone that holds a trust in the estate of the pros and cons.

Cheers!

IMHO, you really need to talk to a lawyer that specializes in these matters. None of the replies you get will match your circumstances, and specifically what you want to do. I recommend Pittman law (near 466 and 301).

I agree that discussing this with an estate attorney is a good idea, and Amy Pittman is a good choice. She prepared my will.

But, most estate attorneys will tend to lean toward preparing a trust for you, and a trust is much more expensive than a will. A trust also requires updating when you sell or purchase additional assets. The main selling point for a trust is that you can often avoid having your estate go through the probate court system. If you have a complicated estate and multiple heirs, the trust can be a good idea. But, if you have a simple estate and only a few or no heirs, your assets can be arranged as "payable on death" and avoid probate even without a trust. That is what I have done. Also, I have personally handled two probate estates for deceased relatives, and it is nowhere near as complicated as some attorneys claim. I would suggest talking with an attorney, who will meet with you for free. But, before agreeing to go with a trust, you should fully understand how it works for your estate, and whether or not it will be advantageous for you. Good luck.

I don't believe property can be "payable on death"

Not specifically, but there are several ways to transfer property ownership at death without having a trust.

Florida is one of the state's where you can have a "Ladybird deed". Property will be immediately transferred to your designated heir. A title company can prepare the deed for around $200. That's the quote i received last year.

Exactly. That is one way to do it. Florida does not allow a "transfer on death" deed like some other states. Another option is to direct the executor of your will to sell the property and distribute the proceeds to the heirs, especially if there are multiple heirs. Or, you can deed the property as joint ownership with your heir, but that can sometimes create legal issues.

A friend passed away last year, and he had a very expensive, one and a half inch thick trust to cover his house, car, and financial accounts. But, all of his assets went to his only child, who also managed the assets, and was the trustee. I really don't think he needed an elaborate trust.

Law Office of Andrew Curtis. Andrew Curtis who specializes in Trusts, is also a Village Resident, one of the Board Members for his area. He has several Info seminars that he runs here at The Villages that you can learn and ask questions about (free). I have had Mr. Curtis do my Trust Estate and the price is pretty affordable.. I was surprised. Best thing I have done esp at this age. His main office is close and he is very knowledgeable.

Find a lawyer who specializes in wills and trusts. People here are very helpful but not exactly lawyers

Ditto. We were very happy with Andrew Curtis.

We've had trusts in the past...expensive and every other year we'd need to have it updated because of changes to the laws governing trusts....finally got tired of 'feeding the pig' and now have a simple approach that will avoid probate...we used Ed Soulsby here in the villages for elder law

"If your main goal is to avoid probate court, so long as you have assets that will not pass through probate then you will not need a trust. However, if you have assets that will pass through probate, the a Florida revocable living trust will be a good idea."

"The living trust should be drafted in a way that gives the successor trust discretion to make distributions. If the trustee is required to make distributions then that living trust will have less protection.

The reason for this is that the creditor of your beneficiary cannot force the trustee to make distributions. The creditor can only attack the distribution once it is made to your beneficiaries.

Another provision that can be added is an “spendthrift provision.” The spendthrift provisions makes it so that your beneficiaries cannot assign their interest in the trust to anybody else, thus providing protection against creditors. Although the spendthrift provisions has some exceptions, it is still an useful tool to provide creditor protection to the beneficiary."

"If you have a child with special needs or if you intent to provide with your inheritance for someone that is receiving Medicaid or governmental benefits, then you must set up a Florida revocable living trust with a special needs trust built into it.

If a child with special needs or a disabled person receiving governmental benefits like Medicaid receives an inheritance, then that inheritance will be counted against them for the purpose of qualifying for the governmental programs.

The purpose of the special needs trust is supplement the governmental benefits and not eliminating the need for it. A lot of the time, there is no inheritance that will be large enough to cover for the expenses of health care that the person will need."

From: Florida Revocable Living Trust - Comprehensive Guide

A RLT with spendthrift provisions and a few other protective features may be able to protect the trust held assets of the inheriting beneficiaries from situations such as a lawsuit resulting in sizable financial liability, a bankruptcy, or a greedy divorcing spouse.

Why would you want a trust?
To manage your assets after your death for the beneficiaries. Then get a trust.
To avoid probate then a trust. But financial assets can be titled so that they go to the beneficiaries and avoid probate.
Then answer depends on what type of assets you have and how much control over the assets you want to keep after death.
In general I would say you do not need a trust.

There is a lot more to a trust than just the transferring of assets. If something happens to you as a trustee the successor trustee simply takes over and continues as always handling affairs as always. There is asset protection from certain liability claims, protection from yourself if you have diminished mental capacity as it's very easy for the successor to take over, it goes on and on. Most assets can be in the trust and you don't have to update the trust itself, just place your assets in the trust instead of simply your name. There is so much more to it and well worth getting legal advice.