Video: What is a Living Trust?

In Siedentopf Law’s latest video, Atlanta estate planning and probate attorney Sarah Siedentopf answers the question “What is a Living Trust?”

Hi, I’m attorney Sarah Siedentopf. I practice estate planning and probate in Atlanta, Georgia. What is a living trust? A living trust is a trust that is put into place while you are still alive. The opposite of this is a testamentary trust. A testamentary trust goes inside a will and is thus not activated until the person has passed away. A living trust is put into place while you are alive and is active during your lifetime. At this level, there are just those two categories of trusts. Either they are active during your lifetime, thus living trusts, or they are testamentary trusts, trusts that are inside a will. You can place any kind of property you want to into a living trust. You might need to do it by deed. You can also place money in a trust bank account. You could make the trust the beneficiary of an IRA or other retirement account if it has the proper language inside it. But the basic answer is a living trust is one that is put into place and is active during the lifetime of the grantor instead of only becoming active after death. If you’ve got more questions about living trusts, I’d love to talk to you. Thank you.