King Fear’s decision to leave all his extensive property to his daughter Delia and Duke Loyal, and virtually nothing to his cruel daughters, Goneril and Regan, must remain secret. After all, he wants to be pampered during his planned rotating month-long visits with all his daughters.
He has put all his real estate into land trusts with banks, and left them to Delia and Loyal. But he knows there are still things he owns that would pass according to his Will, which names Goneril and Regan. So he must quietly clear out just about everything from being officially titled in his own name, because that stuff would get put in his “probate estate,” which is the legal label for the property that would pass under his Will to Goneril and Regan.
Fortunately, he does not have to give up control of his things in order to do this. Instead, he can create a living trust, which avoids probate and the Will, but preserves his authority to control his own assets. He can name himself to be Trustee of the trust.
As trustee, he could buy, sell and use his assets just the same as he could before. Why? Because he can write the trust that he himself is funding to say that he can.
Saying what you want in an estate plan can make all the difference for making your wishes a reality. For help planning the future of your own property and assets, please call my office at (815) 436-1996 for an appointment.
© 2014 Gruber Law Office, Ltd.