Revocable Living Trusts: Joint v. Separate

In today's video we explore revocable living trusts for married couples. Should you have a joint RLT or separate RLTs? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of each.
www.signaturelawpllc.com
-----------------------------------------------------------
Attend a free, bi-monthly presentation on estate planning, followed by a question and answer session!
www.meetup.com...
-----------------------------------------------------------

[@nidasalvador3996]

Thanks for xplain good

[@allenschneider1847]

Or, in a separate trust situation, what the "terms" indicate that upon the death of one spouse all assets are to be dispersed to the trust of the other spouse?

[@anth5760]

New York State

[@jbd0217]

I'm certain I want my own trust that will provide income to my wife but not let her dispose of principle/assets because I'm also quite sure she will likely remarry and I dont want some other dude manipulating her or outliving her only to see my kids lose out on what would be rightfully theirs. I'm also considering making someone else trustee only because she has no financial prowess and has never taken an interest in how I invest and build our wealth.. she will be a target for mistakes and bad decisions in management of a trust.

[@allenschneider1847]

In a separate trust situation, what if each spouse is the successor trustee of the other spouses trust? Upon death of one spouse, why couldn't the surviving spouse (trustee) simply transfer all assets to their trust?

[@signaturelaw]

Hi Allen, thank you for your comment. That is certainly a way to structure things, in fact, a rather common way to structure things. If the terms of the decedent spouse's trust are that the assets get transferred to the surviving spouse's trust, then it doesn't matter who the successor trustee is, that's what'll happen. If the terms of the decedent spouse's trust dictate that the assets get transferred elsewhere, it doesn't matter who the successor trustee is, without fraud the assets will not get transferred to the surviving spouse's trust. Does that answer your question?

[@anth5760]

What if only 1 parent can sign because the other has dementia and they have joint accounts and properties ?

[@signaturelaw]

Thank you for the question! If I understand the question right, joint trusts are typically set up so that each trustee can act independently of the other. If the account or property is funded into the trust, then the trustee with capacity can sign on behalf of the trust. Remember, if a joint RLT owns a property or an account, there aren't two owners anymore, only one - the trust.