Do you know the difference between a Trust and a Will?
One key difference is that a Will must be filed with the Court when the person who made the Will dies. That means the Will becomes part of the public record. Everything written in it, including names, becomes a matter of public record, due to the need to probate a Will with the Court when someone passes away. The probate process itself is lengthy and expensive, sometimes costing tens of thousands of dollars.
A Trust is a simple way to avoid this. A Revocable Trust allows you to include all the provisions you desire and to title your assets while you are alive to your Trust. Here’s an example: You and your spouse own property* that you wish to transfer to your child, family member, or charity, when you both pass away.
If you title your property during your lifetime to your Trust, and your Trust states that upon the demise of both spouses, the property passes to the child, family member, or charity, then that is what will happen, as long as you have named a competent Trustee. In this scenario, there would be no need for probate, and the process won’t cost an arm and a leg.
We at The First National Bank of Mount Dora have been successfully administering Trusts for over 50 years. If you don’t have a Trust already, we can refer you to Estate Planning Attorneys in the area who can draft a Trust for you. We can also administer the Trust for you, should you decide to name us as Trustee. The benefits of having a bank serve as Trustee or Successor Trustee are the following:
1. The bank has continuity. An individual named as Trustee may pass away before fulfilling his or her Trustee obligations, whereas the bank is always available.
2. The bank is impartial, with a fiduciary responsibility to not play favorites among your named beneficiaries.
3. The bank can circumvent family strife. Individual family members who carry out Trustee duties may not be popular with other family members.
4. The bank alleviates the burden on family members by allowing them to grieve the loss of their loved one rather than of scrambling to figure out how to deal with the many duties that fall to the Trustee, such as handling any insurance matters, death claims, tax filings, and liabilities that could arise with respect to Trust administration.
Give us a call to set an appointment to speak with one of our Trust Officers to discuss any questions you may have. We are here to give you the best advice based on your individual situation.
*Homestead property—if it is Homestead property that you wish to title to your trust during your lifetime, we highly recommend speaking with an Estate Planning Attorney beforehand, as this must be accomplished without losing Homestead protection/exemption.
Trust and Investment Services are:
- NOT FDIC INSURED
- NOT Deposits of the Bank
- NOT Guaranteed by the Bank
- NOT Insured by any government agency
- MAY lose value