What is a Living Trust?

A Revocable Living Trust or otherwise known as a "Living Trust" is an estate planning and asset protection tool, which helps provide a smooth transition upon a death or incapacity. Unlike a will, a Revocable Living Trust avoids probate court and guardianship court. A will is a legal document, which distributes your property upon your death. A will does not deal with any planning issues while you are alive unlike a Revocable Living Trust. A Revocable Living Trust is a powerful tool for Physicians and Dentists.

Additionally, a Revocable Living Trust is a private document, which is not public information like a will. Typically, a Revocable Living Trust is coupled with a pour over will. A pour over will is a will, which only is applicable if you did not fully fund your Revocable Living Trust. Thus, a pour over will is a catchall exception, if you purchased an item like an automobile and forget to properly title it in your Revocable Living Trust's name. Often times, clients title new assets without much thought about their Revocable Living Trust. This is why we give our clients a written letter at the Trust Signing, which clearly describes the dos and don'ts for their Revocable Living Trust. Titling of one's assets are critical for your Revocable Living Trust to work as intended. With many Physicians and Dentists, a Revocable Living Trust is vital because it saves a lot of hassles upon death and a lot of money in attorney's fees and costs.

In my opinion, a Revocable Living Trust is a powerful asset protection tool because it minimizes disputes. Asset protection is vital for Physicians and Dentists. Disputes are minimized because privacy protection simply does not give an adversary information to fight. For example, upon a person's death, no mailings are mailed to a disinherited relative like probate court. This invites a family conflict because a certified mailing must occur, which puts the person on high alert. With a Revocable Living Trust, the disputes often times resides because the person simply has no information to take an attorney and an attorney cannot attack the will like a living trust because often times, they have no access to the Revocable Living Trust.

In conclusion, a Revocable Living Trust is an excellent estate planning tool, which should be utilized. A Revocable Living Trust also is a cost-effective item, which reduces family conflicts and often times, a price cannot be put on continuing family harmony.

Sean Robertson is an estate planning and asset protection attorney. Sean Robertson can be reached at (312) 498-6080 or (630) 364-2318. Robertson Law Group, LLC has a downtown Chicago Office and Naperville Office.

Asset Ownership of Real Estate

For Physicians and Dentists, the way they own their real estate properties are vital because potential Defendants see them as large pockets, which are vulnerable. Physicians and Dentists often times falsely believe that a liability or umbrella policy is sufficient for asset protection. A liability policy is good but often times, it is common that Physicians and Dentists are underinsured. Unfortunately, many Physicians and Dentists are ill-prepared in evaluating insurance to know whether they have proper coverage or not. An umbrella liability policy is a cathcall policy that provides liability coverage up to a $1 million or $2 million in case an incident occurs that is not properly covered by their existing policy.

There are several ways to own real estate. The first and most common way is a Physician and his/her spouse own the property jointly. The only home that should be jointly owned is the primary residence. Tenancy by the Entirety is recommended with a Private Land Trust to protect against liens and judgments. The benefit of Tenancy by Entirety is to protect one spouse from the lawsuits, liens, and judgments of the other spouse. Essentially, the creditor that is coming after one spouse cannot foreclose the primary residence if the property is jointly held as tenants by the entirety. One downside to tenants by entirety is the surviving spouse does not automatically inherit the primary residence. This can simply be solved by a revocable living trust, which is an estate planning tool. A Revocable Living Trust is similar to a will in that is disposes of one's property upon death or incapacity. Unlike a will, there is no probate or court procedures upon death or incapacity. Furthermore, a revocable living trust is a private document unlike a will, which is public record.

The second type of real estate ownership is in the personal name. This is exceptionally risky because the property is subject to liens and judgements. Simply put, the purpose of asset protection is to eliminate and minimize (when eliminate is not possible) any liability risks. The downside to real estate being in one's name or jointly held property is the potential Defendant may cease any assets including the primary residence (if not structured right way), money market accounts, bank accounts, business interests, and a personal property to name a few assets. The benefit of incorporating as an Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) is to isolate the claims of the real estate investment property to that particular property.

The third type of real estate ownership is ownership through trusts. Often times, many couples assert that their revocable living trust provides asset protection. This is simply untrue in most cases except in probate avoidance. Owning a property in your revocable living trust is analogous to owning your property in your personal name. The second type of real estate ownership in trust is a private land trust. A private land trust is a common way in Illinois to own real estate where the identity of the owner is private. Private land trust are good but often times, inadequate for physicians and dentists. Private land trust are inadequate because it offers minimal protection and minimal propection oftne times is insufficient for a Physician or Dentists.

In conclusion, asset ownership of real estate is essential for Physicians and Dentists. Sean Robertson has over seven (7) years of asset protection experience and working with Physicians. Sean Robertson deals with lawsuits, litigation, and asset protection on a daily basis. Sean Robertson can be reached at (312) 498-6080 or (630) 364-2318.

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