Trust Attorney in St. Petersburg

In many years as a St. Petersburg Trust attorney, we have noticed that the concept of an estate planning Trust is very misunderstood by the general public. The key thing to remember about a Trust is that it allows you to transfer your assets into the legal name of another entity, albeit fictitious, the Trust. As such, you no longer own the assets in your own name, but in the name of the Trust, which, among other potential benefits, means the Trust assets can typically pass to your beneficiaries without having to go through the court process called “probate” when you die.

The key difference between a Living Trust and a Testamentary Trust is that a Living Trust is fully set up and exists while you are alive. You essentially transfer your assets into the Living Trust during your lifetime, during which time you can also cancel (or revoke) or amend the Trust, which is why it’s called “revocable”. On your death the Trust typically becomes irrevocable. Transferring the assets into the Trust while you are alive is intended to keep your Trust assets from having to go through probate in order to be transferred to your ultimate beneficiaries after you die. With a Testamentary Trust, it is considered a “springing trust”. This basically means you set up the Trust document while you are alive, but you don’t actually transfer any assets into it. When you die, the Trust “springs into action”. The assets get transferred into the Trust after your death and are distributed according to the terms of the Trust. The benefits of a Testamentary Trust are the lower cost and easy setup, as well as the lack of time and expense needed to maintain it during your lifetime.