Why Is a Living Trust So Important?

Having a living trust is an important topic. That's why I've brought in Michael Crupi of The Trust Pros to help me explain the benefits. 

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Why is it so important to make sure your home is in a living trust after you buy it? Today I'm joined by Michael Crupi from The Trust Pros to help me explain this topic.

As Michael says, when you get fire insurance, it insures against the potential hazard of your home burning down, but there's not a contingency built in for other types of hazard in your life, and that's where a living trust comes in. You want a living trust to have a plan to cover all other contingencies. Also, in the unlikely event that something happens to you and your spouse, you'll have a written plan that says exactly what will happen in the event of some other catastrophe. 

So what's the difference between a trust and a will? 

As Michael says, a will covers just one contingency, saying "If I die, here's where my stuff goes." A will also guarantees that your estate will be overseen by probate, meaning California courts will oversee your estate. They will send letters out asking if anybody wants to contest the will, and if anyone does, it can tie up your estate for years. Everything is public knowledge when you have a will. A living trust makes that all go away. 

With a living trust, estate transition is instant and private without any court intervention.

The transition of the estate to the beneficiaries is instant and private and there's no intervention by the courts, Michael added. In addition, there's a whole section of living trusts that covers other issues that a will doesn't cover. For example, a will has a power of attorney for financial, where you put someone in charge and say "If I get sick and I can't run my business, then my spouse will run it." Well, if your spouse is also sick, then you'll appoint someone else to run the business of your life and pay the expenses. 

There's also power of attorney for medical, where you make all decisions in advance and input that contingency, so that way, if your spouse is no longer here or incapacitated, you choose an alternate to that person. There's a whole component to a living trust that a will doesn't even touch on.

Thanks to Michael for joining us to talk about this very important topic. If you have any questions for him, you can reach him at 866-993-0299 or email him at MichaelCrupi@aol.com. He'll actually make a visit to your home!

As always, if you have any questions about the greater Los Angeles market or you're looking to buy or sell a home, you can always give me a call or send me an email. I'd love to help!