A-B trusts are a type of Living Trust set up by someone who is married (in California, typically one trust for both spouses) and is designed to reduce or eliminate the Federal Estate (Death) Tax that would normally be incurred upon the death of the second spouse to die. Keep in mind that everything has disadvantages, including A-B Trusts. Initial cost, complexity, and maintenance costs after the first spouse dies are some of these.

Because living trusts are not under direct court supervision, a trustee who does not act in your best interests or in a prudent fashion accountable to you or your beneficiaries may, in some cases, be able to take advantage of the situation to a greater extent than would be possible had the trustee been under direct court supervision, which provides such safeguards as court accountings and, in some situations, a bond.

No. Because you have complete control of all assets in your trust, you are free to manage your Trust in any way. Also, because your Trust is revocable, you have the right to make any changes in it while you are alive and competent.

The formality involved with third parties in having to provide them with a copy of the trust agreement and delays caused in their accepting the acts of the Trustee.

Lifetime Effort. The implementation of a "living trust" is likely to be more time consuming and far more tedious than would be the case with only a will. The single most common defect in the implementation of a "living trust", where the goal is to avoid probate, is the failure to transfer ownership and title of assets into the name of the trustee.

There are a number of different trust types for a married couple; all of which are typified by the result after the first death. The factors which go into determining the correct type of trust are the size of the estate, the tax laws (both federal and state), the underlying ownership of the trust assets and the comfort level the couple has with the degree of control the survivor should have over the trust.

A "Living Trust" is usually a Will substitute. The Trust avoids the delay and expense of probating a Will. Your estate remains confidential, rather than being a public Probate Court record. Tax saving provisions are often included. A "Living Trust" is like having your own corporation. You put all of your assets ? family home, bank accounts, etc. ? into the Trust (the "corporation"). You name yourself as "Trustee" (the "President").

When you establish your trust, you become the Grantor (sometimes called the Trustor or Settlor) the person who creates the trust and whose property is put into the trust. If you are married and create the trust with your spouse, you both become Co-Grantors (unless you each become Grantors of your own separate trusts). Only the Grantor(s) can make changes to the terms of the trust - that is how you keep control. The person who administers the trust is the Trustee.

You, as trustor (the maker of the trust), would create and execute a trust document and transfer your assets to yourself as the trustee of your trust. In your trust documents you would name yourself as the immediate beneficiary of the trust. You would identify a subsequent or successor trustee to manage your assets upon your incapacity or death.

If you are acting as trustee of your own living trust and become incapacitated, whoever you have named as your successor trustee will assume the responsibility for managing your assets on your behalf. If your assets are not in your living trust, someone else must manage them. How this is accomplished may depend on whether the assets are your separate or community property.

Assets held in your living trust at your death can be managed by the trustee of your living trust and distributed in accordance with your directions in the trust. The trustee is also accountable to your beneficiaries for the trust assets held for their benefit after your death. The trust is not under the direct management of the probate court at and after your death and, therefore, the value and the nature of your assets and the identity of your beneficiaries do not become a public record.

The person you appoint to handle the trust after your death - the successor trustee - simply transfers ownership to the beneficiaries you named in the trust. Much of the time, this can be accomplished in a few weeks. When all of the property has been transferred to the beneficiaries, the living trust ceases to exist.

Yes. In most cases a homeowner who has put his or her home in a living trust can usually take out a reverse mortgage. A review of the trust documents would be made by the reverse mortgage lender to determine if anything in the living trust would be unacceptable.