Trusts and Wills

What this video covers

• Why a will guarantees probate, becomes public record, and does NOT control assets with beneficiary designations or joint tenancy with right of survivorship (JTWROS)
• How a revocable living trust avoids probate but stays in the taxable estate, and why it provides zero creditor protection
• Why an irrevocable trust avoids probate AND generally removes assets from the taxable estate, assuming the grantor retains no prohibited powers
• How a testamentary trust is created by a will and therefore still goes through probate, making it the one trust that does not avoid court
• What a bypass (credit shelter) trust does: preserving the first spouse's estate tax exemption and sheltering future appreciation from the surviving spouse's taxable estate
• Why portability is simpler but inferior to a bypass trust, since portability does not protect future growth
• The mirror-image structure of a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT, family gets income first, charity gets remainder) versus a Charitable Lead Trust (CLT, charity gets income first, family gets remainder)