In the video that follows, I discuss a recent MSN.com article entitled "Five Items to Leave Out of Your Revocable Living Trust."
The author writes as follows:
"Vehicles. Whether it’s a ’63 Corvette, Harley chopper or prop plane, all that’s required to pass it on is a simple written instruction to transfer the title to a beneficiary. In a trust, you’re exposed to lawsuits over accidents that involved the vehicle."
Generally, I disagree. Vehemently.
In the video, I discusses the following:
-Articles, publications, seminars, and presentations should never be construed as legal advice
-The author suggests that only a simple written instruction is necessary to transfer a title to a beneficiary, which statement is misleading or incorrect.
-Beneficiary and Transfer on Death Designations may sometimes work to avoid probate, but they have limitations and risks, and do not constitute a 'plan' to avoid probate (see links below).
-The liability issue raised by the author makes no sense for most revocable living trusts settled in most states.
-The author assumes that the only purpose of a revocable living trust is to avoid probate, which is untrue, and assets outside of a trust do not serve and may impair lifetime planning benefits of a trust:
- Consistent and competent lifetime management of assets is a lifetime planning objective best accomplished with a trust.
- Guardianship avoidance is a lifetime planning objective best accomplished with a trust.
- Protection of assets from a court-appointed guardian is a lifetime planning objective that can only be accomplished with a trust.
- Aging in Place Planning is a lifetime planning objective that can only be accomplished with a trust.
I acknowledges in the video that there are always exceptions, and that the author may not have actually been considering revocable living trusts when drafting the article, but generally I disagrees with the headline and conclusion of the author regarding automobiles.
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