June 3, 2020
There are a number of advantages of revocable living trusts. These include the following:-
1. Avoids probate
By transferring assets out of your name and into the name of a revocable living trust, the assets will no longer be deemed to be part of your estate. As such, when you die, there is no need to have these assets go through the probate process before they can be transferred to your beneficiaries.
2. Saves money
By avoiding probate, you can also save your heirs a substantial amount of money in filing fees, costs, attorney fees and executor fees.
3. Avoids publicity
With probate, your will (together with a schedule of all your assets) is filed in the probate registry and becomes a public document open for inspection by the public. By contrast, a revocable living trust is a private contract between you as grantor and you as trustee; and, as there is no public filing requirement, details of your assets and the beneficiaries of same can remain confidential.
4. Provides protection during incapacity
With a properly drafted revocable living trust, if you become disabled or otherwise unable to manage your estate, your revocable living trust avoids the need for a court-mandated conservatorship by nominating a person known as a successor trustee (similar to a guardian) to manage the trust assets during any period of incapacity.
5. Very difficult to contest
The privacy of a living trust makes it difficult to contest by comparison to a will.
6. Management of children’s inheritance
Living trusts, like wills, can contain sub-trusts for the management of property given to children and young adults.
7. Flexible
You can amend the terms of a living trust or even revoke it at any time.
How Can EstateBee Help You?
For more information on the advantages of revocable living trusts, read some of the other living trust articles on our website.
Alternatively, for a more in-depth discussion of the advantages of revocable living trusts, check out our book Make Your Own Living Trust & Avoid Probate. You’ll learn all you need to know about living trusts, their advantages and disadvantages, the tax implications, the alternatives to living trusts and, of course, how to easily make your own. With detailed information, easy-to-follow instructions, helpful worksheets and all of the forms necessary, we show both individuals and couples how to avoid the otherwise inevitable delays and costs of probate by preparing a revocable living trust and using other simple probate avoidance strategies.
If you have any queries about our products or services or the advantages of revocable living trusts, please feel free to contact us.
If you are considering a trust, review the EstateBee online Revocable Living Trust product details alongside the funding steps discussed in the guides below.
Related reading: 10 Living Trust Myths Explained; How to Fund a Revocable Living Trust; Living Trust vs Will: Key Differences.
Prefer guided questions? Prepare your revocable living trust with our online document generator, then follow the steps to fund it.
Create your living trust online
Not everyone needs a living trust. As a general rule of thumb, you might conclude that you do not need a living trust where you are young and healthy, or can more easily transfer your assets (or some of them) by other probate avoidance methods, or where you do not own any (or very little) property of value. So, consider your own situation carefully before making any decision to create a living trust.
From Living Trust Kit, 2026 Fourth Edition — What Are Revocable Living Trusts?.
Prefer a downloadable guide? Plan your trustees and beneficiaries with forms for individuals and couples, a Living Trust Worksheet, and guidance on funding. The guide explains the transfers needed to place suitable assets in your trust.
U.S. guidance; not intended for Louisiana. Signing a trust does not itself transfer your assets.
