Revocable Living Trust for Real Estate

The primary advantage of a revocable trust is to avoid probate. Probate is a proceeding that occurs typically when an individual passes away. The probate process is something that can be long and costly, and so by having a revocable trust you can avoid the probate process in its entirety.

As far as the Internal Revenue Service is concerned, trust property belongs to the grantor. The grantor names a trustee to manage the assets, but during their lifetime, most people name themselves in this position. A successor trustee is named to carry on when the grantor dies or becomes incapacitated.

Many people use a revocable living trust because it gives them more control over the trust assets. Putting your house in a revocable trust still allows you to change the terms of the trust or remove the house from the trust if you want to.

Creation of a Trust To create a trust, the property owner (called the "trustor," "grantor," or "settlor") transfers legal ownership to a family member, professional, or institution (called the "trustee") to manage that property for the benefit of another person (called the "beneficiary").

Key Takeaways. A revocable living trust is a trust document created by an individual that can be changed over time. Revocable living trusts are used to avoid probate and to protect the privacy of the trust owner and beneficiaries of the trust as well as minimize estate taxes.

A revocable trust is a part of estate planning that manages and protects the assets of the grantor as the owner ages. The trust can be amended or revoked as the grantor desires and is included in estate taxes.

A Revocable Living Trust DefinedAssets can include real estate, valuable possessions, bank accounts and investments. As with all living trusts, you create it during your lifetime.