Create a living trust.
Protect your assets and your loved ones. Creating your trust allows you to:
- Name beneficiaries
- Direct the use of assets
- Give your family access to your assets
A trust is included in your Gentreo membership. Sign up today!
What is a Living Trust?
A “Trust” is a legal entity created by a settlor (also known as a grantor) who owns or “holds” assets under the authority of a person, called the Trustee, for the benefit of a third person, who is called the beneficiary.
Do I Need a Trust?
If you have a significant assets, you should have a Trust to specify how those assets are managed when you’re alive, and who should receive your funds and your goods when you pass away. You can transfer your assets to your trust while you’re alive to make it easier to distribute them to your chosen beneficiaries when you die.
Protect your assets and your loved ones with a legally binding Trust.
A Living Trust is a legal entity created by you to manage the assets that you put into your Trust. Upon your death, the Trustee distributes your assets according to the terms of your Trust. Your Will distributes the assets you own outside of your Trust.
With my Trust, I have greater control over my assets, and I know my wishes will be followed. It’s been a helpful way to protect my assets and more importantly, my loved ones.
Jason F.
Our estate planning service gives you what you need to protect the ones you love.
Simple to create
We guide you through each step so you can customize a full and complete Living Trust. You can update it any time.
Other Document Types:
Learn More About Creating Your Trust
Estate planning can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Find answers to common questions about creating your Trust and planning for your future here.
A “Trust” is a legal entity created by a settlor (also known as a grantor) who owns or “holds” assets under the authority of a person, called the Trustee, for the benefit of a third person, who is called the beneficiary.
This is the type of Trust you will be creating. It is common for you to be both the settlor (the person that creates and funds the Trust) and the Trustee that is in charge of the Trust. Generally, it is easy to create a Trust; the challenge is funding it because you have to transfer your assets into the Trust. Once the trust is funded, you no longer own those assets individually, the Trust now owns the assets and the Trustee controls it.
Using Gentreo, you can create a Trust agreement that is originally funded with $10.00. Once you set up your Trust, you need to further fund it by transferring your assets into the Trust. For example, if you own a bank account in your name and want your Trust to own it, you must go to your bank and transfer your account from your name to your Trust’s name.
Your Trust is only effective to the extent you place assets into it. To help with this process, you will also have the opportunity to create what is known as a “Pour-over Will,” which will “pour” any of your assets that, during your lifetime, you forgot or intentionally chose not to put into your Trust.
Trusts have one special advantage over Wills: generally, the court is not involved in the distribution of the Trust. With Wills, the court is involved and oversees what is called the probate process. Probate is the legal term to describe the process of presenting the Will to court; having it established as valid; and ordering that the terms of the will be upheld. In many instances and in many states, probate can be expensive, time consuming, and intrude on your family’s privacy, even if you have a well-written Will.
If you have properly set up a Trust, you can avoid the probate process entirely by having your Trust own your assets and then transfer them to your loved ones upon your death.
A Trust only works if you have put assets into it. Transferring assets into a Trust often includes re-titling your assets (such as your home or car) in the name of your Trust. Re-titling describes the process by which you transfer ownership from yourself individually to the Trust. For example, you may own a house in your name, in order for it to become part of your Trust, you need to transfer the deed from your name to the name of the Trust. This deed has to be recorded in your Registry of Deeds, or the equivalent in your state.
Sometimes, not every asset gets properly placed or re-titled into the Trust during your life. To help limit inconvenience to your loved ones, you can create what is known as a “Pour-over Will.” Upon your death, a Pour-over Will “pours” those assets of yours that were left out of your Trust into your Trust. With Gentreo, when you create your living Trust, you also create your Pour-over Will as part of that process, so you have a comprehensive Trust-based estate plan. When you complete the Gentreo Trust survey, you will also be asked questions to create the accompanying Pour-over Will, so both documents will be produced from the one survey.
If you don’t fund your Trust (for example, if you do not re-title your assets in the name of your Trust), your Trust will be ineffective.
Your Trust only has authority over the assets that are placed (or “funded”) into it. Any assets outside of your Trust will be subject to your Will, if you have one. If you have a “Pour-over Will” like the one we help you create, it makes sure any assets you don’t put into your Trust during your lifetime transfer into the Trust upon your death.