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There are several types of Living Trust to consider.

The "A" Trust (This trust is for a single person)

The "A" trust is another way of indicating that the trust is for a single person. This will be a single party trust and is often used not only for unmarried people but it is very effective as a pre-nuptial trust where the client wishes to identify and place their personal assets into trust prior to being married. Assets placed into such a trust under those conditions would be considered sole and separate property and would not be subject to community property in states where that applies.

The A-A Trust (This trust is for two single people living together as man and wife)

This trust is usually used where two single people are living together as man and wife in common law relationship or in cases where the same gender individuals are living as partners. The distinguishing factor would be that they are in some fashion co-mingling their financial interest or assets (perhaps buying a home together ) but are not living under the laws governing legal marriage. This is essentially two "A" trust but with some diffeences to provide for the legalities of the situation. Each applicant needs to complete separate application for the A-A Trust.

The A-B Trust (This trust is for couples that are legally married)

The AB Living Trust is used for couples that are legally married. This trust give each spouse the opportunity to individually declare the heirs of the assets that they bring to the trust. It usually uses the spouse as the default beneficiary at the first death of a spouse leaving everything to the surviving spouse. It has another very important feature. In a day and age when people are marring two and three times or more, it provides that each spouse can individually designate the beneficiaries of their individual assets such as to children from the previous marriage. At the death of a Trustor the deceased's half of the Living Trust becomes irrevocable (it becomes the "B" Trust) preventing the surviving spouse from changing any bequests the deceased spouse may have made, thus insuring that the wishes of the deceased spouse are honored.

The QTIP or A-B-C Trust (This trust is for married couples where their total assets exceed the estate tax exemption)

This stands for "Qualified Terminable Interest Property" Trust. This trust is used for married couples where their total assets exceed the estate tax exemption. Under normal circumstances estate taxes would have to be paid in full within 9 months of death on the excess over the estate tax exemption. This couold create a huge problem if the excess was very large.

The QTIP Trust provides for relief from this situation moving the due date for payment of the estate tax out to 9 months after the death of the second spouse. The surviving spouse can take income from the trust for maintenance, education, and health maintenance but those privileges are limited. Specific rules apply to this provision governing how much the surviving spouse can remove from the trust and we recommend that you research this provision and familiarize yourself with the specifics.

The QDOT Trust (This trust is for married couples where one or more of the spouse is a non citizen resident alien)

The QDOT Trust is essentially the same as the QTIP Trust with the exception that it applies to married couples where one or more of the spouse is a non citizen resident alien. To retain the estate tax benefits the trustee of this trust must be a U.S Citizen.

The Special Needs Provision (This provision is for families who may have a child with special needs)

NO CHARGE for clients who purchased a Living Trust. The special need could be a child with a permanet physical impairment or a mental or emotional impairment requiring a lifetime of care from the parents. This Trust is designed to provide for ongoing care of the child even after the parents die. Often the child will be on government programs or assistance that could be adversely affected by the trust that would leave the child with assets at the parent's death. A special Needs Trust provides for arrangements to use proceeds from the Living Trust to care for the child without affecting othe valued benefits.

The I.L.I.T Trust

This trust is also known as an "Insurance Trust" and its purpose is to remove the death benefits of the clients life insurance from your estate. Life insurance death proceeds are countable in the Estate Tax calculation after death and can boost the total assets of the estate over the exemption limit causing an Estate Tax to occur on the estate. Using the ILIT reduces the after-death estate assets by the amount of the life insurancedeath proceeds and in many cases reduces or prevents the Estate Tax from occurring altogether.

All Revocable Living Trust come with FREE LIFETIME SUPPORT and FREE LIFETIME CHANGES!