Irrevocable Trusts • Towson Trust Attorneys

Avoid the Maryland Probate Process

Do you seek to avoid probate and protect your estate for your beneficiaries? What type of trust is right for your tax situation? The attorneys at Sims & Campbell helps people with possessions avoid the probate process to determine how assets are split up. A trust created by an trust lawyer should effectively manage your assets and safeguard your financial privacy in the event you pass away or become unable to manage your estate. Having a properly structured trust can help reduce estate taxes and avoid surprises and squabbles between your loved ones.

The main reason for setting up an irrevocable trust is for estate and tax considerations. The benefit of this type of trust for estate assets is that it removes all incidents of ownership, effectively removing the trust’s assets from the grantor’s taxable estate. An irrevocable trust can’t be modified or terminated without the permission of the beneficiary. The grantor, having transferred assets into the trust, effectively removes all of his rights of ownership to the assets and the trust. This is the opposite of a revocable trust, which allows the grantor to modify the trust. The grantor is also relieved of the tax liability on the income generated by the assets. While the tax rules vary between jurisdictions, in most cases, the grantor can’t receive these benefits if he is the trustee of the trust. The assets held in the trust can include, but are not limited to, a business, investment assets, cash and life insurance policies.