Living Trust vs. Will in New York: Which Is Better? - YouTube

Living Trust vs. Will in New York: Which Is Better?

We’ll demystify this topic in the following video. I’m nick at Hauseit. Visit

our website www.hauseit.com to save money when buying or selling real estate here

in New York City, so let's get started!

Estate planning is an important yet overlooked topic for many existing home

owners and first-time buyers in New York particularly in New York City. While the

use of the will is the most commonly used way to plan for the distribution of

assets upon death, a living trust can also perform the same function while

offering additional benefits such as the avoidance of probate. More specifically,

the use of a living trust or a living trust in conjunction with a pour-over

will can completely eliminate or minimize the time and monetary expenses

associated with probate as would be required when exclusively using a will

as an estate planning tool. Consequently, a living trust is generally regarded as

a great probate avoidance mechanism and will substitute. A living trust provides

additional benefits such as greater privacy and extra protection from court

challenges as compared to a last will and testament. A living trust is

especially helpful if you reside out of state as it can avoid the need for

ancillary probate proceedings in the states where you own property. Now let's

do a quick refresher: what is a living trust? A living trust

also known as a revocable trust is a way of allocating assets to beneficiaries

after death while avoiding or minimizing the probate process. Assets such as real

estate and bank accounts are transferred into a living trust by the grantor and

the trust documentation names a trustee as well as a successor trustee. Now the

living trust outlines what happens to the property once the grantor or settlor,

the person who contributed the property, passes away. Because the assets have been

transferred into the trust they are not considered to be part of a decedent's

estate and are not subject to probate. The grantor typically serves as the

trustee and this means that the grantor maintains full control of the trust and

the assets contain their end during her or his lifetime consequently a living

trust may be or revoked at any time while the grantor

is still alive. Any income or tax obligations arising from the assets

transferred into the trust remain the responsibility of the grantor. Upon death

of the grantor the successor trustee is tasked with managing the assets paying

bills and making distributions as outlined in the trust documentation

while winding down the estate. Unlike a will, a living trust is a private

document which never becomes public therefore it offers additional privacy

compared to a last will and testament which must be submitted publicly for

probate and becomes a matter of public record. A living trust also offers

additional protection from court challenges compared to a will. Advantages

of a living trusts compared to a will in New York. As we've mentioned, the primary

advantage and benefit of a living trust is that a living trust avoids probate.

Now probate is a public time-consuming and costly process through which a

decedent's last will and testament is recognized through the courts and the

executor becomes authorized to manage and unwind the estate. While probate

cannot be avoided if there are assets which were not transferred into a living

trust prior to death, the time and costs associated with probate can be minimized

through the combination of a living trust and a pour-over will. A pour-over

will stipulates that any assets which weren't transferred into the trust prior

to death become part of the living trust and are to be disposed of as instructed

by the living trust. In addition to avoiding or minimizing probate a living

trust also provides additional privacy and protection from court challenges

compared to a traditional will. So you might be asking: everything sounds so

great so what are the drawbacks of a living trust? Well, the primary drawback

is the additional time and cost associated with creating a trust and

transferring assets such as real estate into the trust itself. How much does a

living trust cost in New York and New York City? Well the typical costs

associated with setting up a living trust in New York is roughly three

thousand to six thousand dollars. Individuals typically prepare a living

trust as one component of an overall estate planning

process which may also include additional documents such as a pour-over

will, health care directives, power of attorney and asset integration guidance

Is a living trust beneficial for out-of-state property ownership? Yes, if a

deceased individual lived out of state but owned property under their personal

name in New York an ancillary probate proceeding in the surrogates court in

New York is required in order to sell the property. Having all property in a

living trust avoids the need for probate in the decedent's state of residence as

well as ancillary probate proceedings in the other states where they own property.

So there you have it. We hope you found this video helpful and if you did please

like subscribe to our channel and leave us a comment we greatly appreciate it

Thanks again for watching. I'm Nick at Hauseit, and we'll see you on the next

one.