Quick Overview of Living Trust Law

The significance of not “owning” anything becomes very important when you ultimately die. Upon your death, since you have nothing in title in your own name (because your assets are in the Trust), there is nothing to probate. If you are married, the surviving spouse typically becomes the surviving trustee and, as such, continues to have the same power to buy, sell, transfer, or do whatever is desired with those assets. Normally, in the Trust, you would identify whom you want to act as the Successor Trustee. The Successor Trustee is the person who will take charge of the Trust upon the death of the original Trustee(s). That person, or persons, will immediately step in, upon the death of the surviving Trustee, and have the same power to buy, sell, or transfer those assets and, more importantly, to use them and to distribute them as you would have wanted them used or distributed. Once the Successor Trustee takes over the Trust he/she or them or limited in what they can do only by what is enumerated in the Trust. They must distribute the assets exactly as the Trust directs them to. If the Trust is to continue its existence in the case of a minor child or children, the Trustee must manage the Trust until the assets are completely distributed to the minor child or children. When this happens is entirely up to the original Trustor. The Trustor can set any age of the child for the Trust to end.