What is a revocable living trust?
A revocable living trust is a legal arrangement you create to hold and manage your assets. You can change or cancel it any time, and unlike a will, its provisions apply while you’re still alive. In Georgia, it’s the most common way for families to avoid probate and control how their kids inherit. You probably need one if you own a home or have children.
Trusts aren’t only for the wealthy. This misconception has been passed down through books, movies, and other popular media, and it’s done a lot of damage. If you own a home or have kids, a revocable living trust is worth looking into, because a will alone usually isn’t enough.
This guide explains what a revocable living trust is, how it works in Georgia, what it does (and doesn’t do), and how to decide if you need one.
What is a revocable living trust?
A revocable living trust is a legal arrangement you create during your lifetime to hold and manage your assets. You can move major assets like your home, bank accounts, and investments into the trust, but you can retain control of them as the trustee, and you set the rules for how they pass to your heirs after you’re gone.
Revocable living trusts are by far the most useful type of trust for most people.
- “Revocable” means you can change or cancel the trust at any time, as long as you’re alive and mentally competent, so you’re not locked into anything forever. You can change your mind about a beneficiary, buy a new house, or scrap the whole thing. It’s fully under your control.
- “Living” means the trust is created and takes effect during your lifetime, rather than through your will after you die. (A trust created by your will is a different tool called a testamentary trust.)
In most cases, you are your own trustee while you’re alive. This means you aren’t handing off control to someone else. You keep managing your home, your accounts, and your investments exactly as you do now. Nothing about your day-to-day life will change under a revocable living trust, unless you want it to.
Why a trust vs. a will?
There are several reasons why a trust is better than a will for most families, but here’s just one: A will doesn’t let you avoid probate court, but a trust does. That means your family can inherit your assets right away, without having to spend months in court waiting for approval to access your accounts.
Also, a revocable living trust gives you more control over how your heirs inherit. This is especially useful if you have minor children (who would otherwise get a lump-sum payment at age 18), or adult children who are bad with money.
Get the full breakdown on wills vs. trusts here.
How does a revocable living trust work in Georgia?
There are four “stages” to creating and using a revocable living trust:
- Create the trust document: The first step is to design a plan around your goals, like which family members should inherit your assets and how that should take place. At Siedentopf Law, we do this through the Estate Design process: a guided Design Meeting of about an hour, where we walk you through the decisions you’ll need to make for your family and circumstances.
- Fund the trust: Next, you transfer assets into the trust’s name. This is an essential part of the process; otherwise, the trust is basically an empty bank account. This step can trip people up, so we walk our clients through exactly how to do this.
- Manage the trust during your lifetime: As your own trustee, you keep full control. You can buy, sell, spend, and invest just as you always have. As you acquire new assets, we’ll gladly advise you on whether they belong inside or outside your trust.
- Hand off at incapacity or death: When incapacity or death occurs, your named successor trustee can step in immediately to manage your estate. Assets pass to your beneficiaries according to your trust’s terms, without probate delay and without going on the public record.
What a revocable living trust does (and doesn’t do)
A revocable living trust does:
- Avoid probate: Assets held in a trust pass directly to your beneficiaries without going through Georgia’s probate court. By contrast, every Georgia will goes through probate. This is a public, court-supervised process that can take months to years.
- Cover incapacity: If you can’t manage your affairs, your successor trustee steps in without a court guardianship or conservatorship proceeding.
- Control inheritance timing: You can specify how your children inherit. Many parents want their kids to receive their inheritance in stages—for instance, at age 25 or for a specific purchase like a first home. This tends to work better than a lump sum payment at age 18.
- Keep your affairs private: Anything that passes through probate (like a will) goes on the public record. A trust’s terms do not.
- Work across state lines: If you own property in more than one state, a trust can avoid a separate “ancillary” probate in each one.
A revocable living trust does not:
- Protect your assets from creditors: Because you keep full control of a revocable trust, the law still treats the assets as yours. (Certain irrevocable trusts will protect your assets from creditors; more on that below.)
- Reduce estate taxes: For most Georgia families, this is a non-issue. Georgia has had no state estate tax since 2014, and the federal estate tax only affects estates of $15M or more ($30M+ for couples).
- Replace a will: You still need a “pour-over will” to catch anything you didn’t move into the trust, and, if you have minor children, to name their guardian. A trust can’t nominate a guardian; only a will can.
Revocable vs. irrevocable trust: what’s the difference?
For most families, a revocable living trust is the best solution. It lets you avoid probate, maintain your privacy, control distribution, and cover incapacity while keeping you in charge during your lifetime.
Irrevocable and specialized trusts solve very specific problems, such as asset protection, certain tax situations, and special-needs planning, but you give up a lot of flexibility and control in the process.
| Revocable living trust | Irrevocable trust | |
| Changeable? | Yes, anytime while you’re mentally competent | No, not easily once created |
| Who’s in control | You (as your own trustee) | You give up direct control |
| Tax benefits | Not on its own, but usually not needed | Possibly, depending on the type and your situation |
| Best suited for | Most families with children or real property | Specialized tool for specific goals |
Who needs a revocable living trust?
Revocable living trusts aren’t for everyone, but there are five groups who almost always benefit:
Parents of minor children
Without a trust, two things go wrong at once. First, a court gets involved in transferring and managing the assets your children inherit, because your family will have to go through probate for your will (or a different court process if your estate is intestate).
Second, you won’t be able to control when your children inherit. With a simple will, everything you leave behind can pass to your child outright the moment they turn 18. Most parents don’t love the idea of an 18-year-old receiving a lifetime of assets with no strings attached.
A revocable living trust solves both of these problems by keeping the inheritance out of court and letting you decide the timing. With a trust, you can release funds to your minor children in stages, or for specific purposes like college or a first home. You get to choose.
Homeowners
In Georgia, any real estate held in your name alone goes through probate when you die. A house is often the single largest asset a family owns, and it’s one reason why a will is generally not a sufficient estate plan on its own. By moving your home into a revocable living trust, it passes to your beneficiaries outside of probate, so they don’t have to wait through months of filing to inherit.
Small business owners
If you own a business, a trust can hold and transfer your interest with clear succession terms so your business doesn’t stall in probate with potentially frozen funds. If you have an LLC, you can also transfer your LLC interest into the trust to make things easier on your family and business partners if you pass away.
Anyone who values privacy
Probate is a matter of public record. Once a will is filed, your assets, beneficiaries, and the terms of the will (including who inherits what) become accessible to anyone who wants to look. A trust keeps it all private.
People with property in multiple states
Do you own a vacation home in another state? Without a trust, your family may face a separate probate proceeding in each state where you own real property. A trust consolidates it into one plan, so your family doesn’t have to hire lawyers licensed in each state.
Do I need a revocable living trust?
The answer, of course, is “that depends.” But I hope we’ve debunked the myth that a revocable living trust is an exotic instrument for the ultra-wealthy. For a Georgia family with a home and children, it’s usually the most practical way to keep your estate out of probate, keep everything private, and make sure your kids inherit in the way you intend.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a lawyer to set up a revocable living trust?
You can find DIY trust templates online, but a template usually creates the illusion of a plan without substance. Some of the most expensive estate planning mistakes I’ve seen have come from using online templates, either because they aren’t right for your situation, or they weren’t signed in a way the law recognizes, or the trust was never funded properly. A licensed attorney will ensure you end up with a trust built around your specific goals, and that it will hold up when your family needs it.
Is a revocable living trust the same as a will?
No. These are two separate documents that do different jobs. They’re designed to work together, and you probably need both. Assets you transfer into a trust will avoid probate, and you can control privacy and distribution timing. Your will nominates guardians for minor children and, as a “pour-over” will, catches any assets that didn’t make it into the trust. This is why most families need both.
Can I be the trustee of my own revocable living trust?
Yes, and most people set it up this way. While you’re alive and competent, you typically serve as your own trustee and manage everything exactly as you do now. You name a successor trustee who will step in only if you become incapacitated or pass away.
What happens to a revocable living trust when I die?
When you die, the trust becomes irrevocable, meaning it can no longer be changed. Your successor trustee will distribute your assets according to your instructions, without having to wait on probate. If you built in staged distributions for your children, the successor trustee will manage that timeline.
Does a revocable living trust protect my assets from creditors or nursing home costs?
No. Because you keep full control, the law still treats the assets as yours during your lifetime, so a revocable trust doesn’t offer creditor or long-term-care protection. That kind of protection requires a different, irrevocable structure, which carries significant risk and therefore requires a more specialized conversation.
How much does a revocable living trust cost in Georgia?
A trust costs more upfront than a basic will, but probate has its own associated costs: court filing fees, attorney fees, CPA fees, months of delay, and the loss of privacy that comes with a public court process. The cost of a trust is a flat fee you control, while the cost of probate is an unknown your family can’t easily plan for.
