Trusts

• A trust is an estate planning tool designed to provide the long-term management of personal assets while allowing the owner of the trust to avoid probate court, or the legal process of administering a deceased person's assets. A revocable trust is considered "living" when it is established during the lifetime of the settler, or trust owner, and is considered revocable when it can be altered or revoked all together, at any time during the owner's lifetime.
  
  

Revocable Trust

• In most states, including Missouri, a revocable living trust consists of three different parts. The first part identifies the grantor or settler and the person who creates the trust and provides the funding and or assets for the trust. The settler can be one person or multiple persons, such as a husband and wife. The second part of the revocable trust consists of the trustee, the person or persons who hold the title to the trust property and manage it. Last, the document address the beneficiary, or recipient of the trust assets upon the settler's death.
  
  

Missouri

• While revocable trusts are essentially the same from state to state, certain key differences can exist. Unlike some states, in the state of Missouri a revocable living trust allows the trust owner, or grantor, to appoint himself as the trustee, or overseer of the trust. Likewise, Missouri allows the grantor to exercise complete control over his assets, without the oversight of a trust company or attorney.
  
  

Advantages

• One of the primary benefits of a revocable trust is its ability to enable the grantor to avoid estate tax implications since it is a private estate plan that is not a part of the public record, which can save a beneficiary thousands of dollars in estate tax liability. A revocable trust also provides continued asset management, even if the grantor is incapacitated. Most important, it allows the grantor absolute control of the distribution of his property to his beneficiaries.