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Generally a living trust is not a tool for debt avoidance or asset protection. While the living trust assets are technically in the name of the living trust, rather than your own, this does not prohibit creditors from seeking trust assets to pay for debts owed to them, and are in fact discoverable assets, meaning someone may request an accounting of the trust assets.
However, beneficiaries who have not yet received the trust assets may not be named under liens or creditors lawsuits, since they have not yet received the asset itself. Finally, while trusts are private documents not filed with the county or any other public agency, trust assets are discoverable and may be examined through a subpoena for records or through a court order. By placing assets into a living trust you are protecting the assets from waste, mishandling, and conflicts, by setting clear instructions on how assets are to be distributed. You are also attempting to avoid probate proceedings, which are costly, public, lengthy, and contested. However, placing assets into a living trust, does not "hide" them from creditors and should not be used for such purposes. If you have additional questions about this topic or need legal guidance, we invite you to schedule a free consultation at https://calendly.com/forwardestateplanning/aristov-law-pc Comments are closed.
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