Land trust/recordable trust
I have a land trust on my home, I also have an annuity . I have no other investments. Would it be better if I have the revokeable trust? Everything is left to my children in a will,trust , and annuity.
Terry Says
Well, I haven’t seen your documents, but I’m going to suggest you see an estate planning attorney or Certified Financial Planner. From what you said a few points jump out at me.
Your land trust does allow you to pass on your home without going through probate, but what happens if you are incapacitated but alive? With a Revocable Living Trust, your named successor can take over for you. The land trust means you must die (or that your named beneficiary of the trust must go through the process of getting a court order to designate you as incompetent!)
Then there’s your “annuity” — Is it designated to pay out over your lifetime AND the lifetime of your named beneficiary? Better check on that. Most annuities pay out only over your lifetime, and any balances are kept by the insurance company. And if you designated a named beneficiary who is much younger, that reduced the amount of your monthly payout. You can’t do anything about that now that you’ve made the decision, but you should know the terms of your annuity payout.
And your will must go through probate, delaying distribution of your assets for nearly a year in many places. It’s time for a thorough review!
