The Importance of Having A Living Trust in California
Planning for the future means protecting both your assets and loved ones. In California, a living trust offers key advantages over a will:
Avoid Probate - This is probably the most important reason. It makes it much easier for your family to manage your estate after you pass. A relief when they are also dealing with grief.
California’s probate process is lengthy, costly, and public.
Probate fees are based on the gross value of the estate, not after debts.
Assets in a living trust pass directly to the beneficiaries without court involvement.
Maintain Privacy - Who really needs to know your business?
A will becomes public record during probate.
A living trust remains private, keeping financial and personal details confidential.
Ensure Continuity During Incapacity - A much underestimated advantage of a trust is that your wishes and estate can be managed if you are incapacitated. May none of us ever suffer like this, but why make it harder on family or friends to take care of you if injury or illness happen?
If you become unable to manage finances, a designated successor trustee can step in.
No court intervention required, which provides stability and reduces stress for your caretakers.
Flexible for Complex Situations - everyone has a different situation, and if you’ve lived a full and varied life your estate and assets may reflect that.
Ideal for homeowners, business owners, blended families, and those with diverse assets.
Can be tailored to align with financial and tax strategies.
Thinking about the future like this is never easy, but it is essential if you really want to have control and care for yourself and your loved ones when you are not able to do it for yourself anymore. If you have questions or need help getting started, give us a call. Lightcap Financial Group is here for you.
This commentary reflects the personal opinions, viewpoints and analyses of the Lightcap Financial Group, LLC employees providing such comments, and should not be regarded as a description of advisory services provided by Lightcap Financial Group, LLC or performance returns of any Lightcap Financial Group, LLC client. The views reflected in the commentary are subject to change at any time without notice. Nothing in this commentary constitutes investment advice, performance data or any recommendation that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. Any mention of a particular security and related performance data is not a recommendation to buy or sell that security. Lightcap Financial Group, LLC manages its clients’ accounts using a variety of investment techniques and strategies, which are not necessarily discussed in the commentary. Investments in securities involve the risk of loss. Past performance is no guarantee of future results