Last Wills & Revocable Living Trusts

Both a Last Will and a Revocable Living Trust give your loved ones instructions on what should happen to your property when you pass away. However, a Revocable Living Trust allows your loved ones to avoid most of the probate process. Learn more

Yes, there are many different types of Trusts! A Revocable Living Trust is the main type of Trust used for estate planning purposes because it allows your loved ones to avoid most of the probate process, while not putting any restrictions on how you can use the property in your Trust during your lifetime. "Revocable" means that you can change or even terminate your Trust completely. "Living" means that you create the Trust during your lifetime.

Unfortunately, New Chapter Legal does not currently offer any other type of standalone Trust. But I do offer special provisions and language for leaving assets to minor children or someone with special needs. If you're looking to plan for future Medicaid eligibility or have assets worth over $5 million, then you may benefit from having a different type of Trust that New Chapter Legal doesn't offer. If you need something that I can't offer, I'm happy to provide referrals to another attorney.

Yes, New Chapter Legal offers special provisions and language for minor beneficiaries in Last Wills, and for both minor and special needs beneficiaries in Revocable Living Trusts. This is especially important for people with special needs who are receiving need-based benefits that they must continue to be eligible for.

Yes, New Chapter Legal offers special provisions and language in Revocable Living Trusts for adult beneficiaries that shouldn't get everything you leave them all at once. Instead, their share will be managed by a Trustee of your choosing, who will only give funds to the beneficiary for their medical, educational, and other important needs.

An Executor is in charge of managing the probate process and making sure that the instructions in your Last Will are followed. Whereas, a Trustee is in charge of administrating your Trust and making sure the instructions of your Trust are followed. Both an Executor and Trustee have similar roles, and if you have both a Last Will and a Revocable Living Trust then the same person must be both your Executor and Trustee.

If a person doesn’t want to be a Trustee or Executor, then they can decline to take on the role or resign from the role if they've initially taken it on. No one is ever forced to be an Executor or Trustee. Since the future is uncertain, it's important to list a few backups for your first pick of Executor or Trustee.

Yes, you can have Co-Executors or Co-Trustees. Just keep in mind that both your Executors or Trustees will need to work together.

Yes, you can modify your Last Will by creating a separate document called a Codicil. You can modify your Revocable Living Trust by creating a separate document called an Amendment. You could also entirely revoke your Last Will or Revocable Living Trust, so that they would no longer be in effect. You're never locked into your estate plan and your documents can always be changed if you wishes change.

During your lifetime you are the Trustee of your Revocable Living Trust. Therefore, you're in charge of managing your own Trust. However, there's nothing special you need to do during your lifetime to manage it. You'll continue to use and do what you want with the property in your Trust, just as you can now. Once you pass away a Successor Trustee of your choosing will take over. The Successor Trustee may take a reasonable fee for their time and expense required to follow the instructions you give in your Trust. These reasonable fees are paid from the assets in your Trust.

Yes, you should still have a special type of Last Will, called a Pour Over Will, even if you have a Revocable Living Trust. It's called a Pour Over Will because its purpose is to "pour" any assets you forgot to put in your Trust into your Trust when you pass away. If you have a Trust then the instructions on what you want to happen to your assets will be in the Trust document. The Trust instructions only apply to assets that are in your Trust.

For example, if your Trust says that your nephew gets your car, but you forget to put your car into your Trust, then your nephew can't get the car unless the car somehow gets into your Trust. The Pour Over Will solves this problem by making sure the car gets into your Trust.

Additionally, New Hampshire law RSA § 463:5 states that you must specify in your Last Will who will take care of your minor children.

No, your tax liability will remain the same as whatever it is now. The IRS will disregard your Revocable Living Trust and will still consider you to be the owner of the assets in your Trust. If the assets in your Trust generate income, such as interest or dividends, then you must report this as personal income on your taxes.

No, you’ll be able to do anything with your property that you can do now. During your lifetime you’ll be both the Trustee and beneficiary of your Trust. This means that you'll still legally own your property, and you’ll be able to use and do what you want with your property.

Generally, you put an asset into your Trust by making the Trustee of your Trust, which will still be you, the legal owner of the property. I'll provide you with detailed instructions on how to put different types of property you might own into your Trust. You'll also be able to transfer your tangible personal property and any New Hampshire real estate you own into your Trust as part of the estate planning process with New Chapter Legal.

Yes, it's certainly possible. Property with a beneficiary designation (e.g., life insurance), or a payable on death or transfer on death designation do not go through probate. Additionally, property you own jointly with another person doesn't go through probate when one joint owner passes away.

However, not all property allows you to designate a beneficiary, and making someone a joint owner of your property may have more drawbacks than advantages. For instance, all owners of a bank account have the power to withdraw all funds in the account if they wish to. Additionally, both joint owners' creditors can reach and take the jointly owned property. Plus, if none of your designated beneficiaries survive you, or if the other joint owner passes away before you, then that asset will still go through probate when you pass away.

Whether or not you choose to create a Revocable Living Trust, you'll be advised on what steps you should take to make sure your assets pass smoothly and simply.

No, you won’t need to refinance your mortgage. Your liability for your mortgage, or any other secured interest on your property, will remain the same as whatever it is now.

However, you should reach out to your mortgage company or creditor to let them know that you put the property into your Trust. Additionally, if you do decide to refinance your mortgage in the future, then you may need to temporarily take the property out of your Trust to do so.