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Revocable Trusts

Upstate New York Revocable Trust Attorney

A Revocable Trust does not protect your life savings in the event you need Nursing Home or Home Care. Since you can revoke the Trust, Medicaid can force you to revoke the Trust and withdraw all the Trust assets and use those assets towards the cost of care.

What is a Revocable Trust?

A Revocable trust is a living trust created by a written agreement between you and the person you choose to manage the assets in the Trust. You may designate yourself to serve as trustee. You may revoke or change the Trust at any time. You may reserve the right to withdraw income and principal at any time. The terms of the Trust Agreement should be written to meet your personal needs and goals.

A Revocable Trust Avoids Probate

On your death, your trust assets will be distributed directly to your named beneficiaries without the costs, problems, publicity, or delays of probate. You can also direct that on your death your assets be left in a special trust for some or all of your designated beneficiaries, such as a trust for minors.

Supplemental Needs Trust as Part of Beneficiary Clause

A Supplemental Needs Trust is a trust which provides for a person with disabilities. Under this type of trust, the person with disabilities would receive distributions to supplement any benefits he/she was receiving from governmental programs. The person with disabilities would not be disqualified from receiving such governmental benefits. By making a Supplemental Needs Trust part of the beneficiary clause of a Revocable Trust, the person with disabilities will be quickly provided for without the delays and costs of Probate.

Revocable Trusts Can Minimize Estate Taxes

By establishing separate Revocable Trusts with the appropriate language, each spouse can utilize New York and federal estate tax exemptions.

Revocable Trusts Provide for Asset Management in the Event of Incapacity

If you establish your own Revocable Trust and later become incapacitated, your designated Successor Trustee could take over with virtually no difficulties. This allows for your estate planning investments to remain intact with an easy transition to your designated successor. You also can provide whether your Trustee(s) or Successor Trustee(s) can act separately or must act jointly.

Revocable VS. Irrevocable Living Trusts

Under the Medicaid laws, any assets that you can withdraw from your trust are not protected. Medicaid will require you to use those assets towards the cost of care in a Nursing Home or for Home Care. A Revocable Trust does not protect your life savings or your family home in the event of a catastrophic illness. Since you can revoke the trust, Medicaid can force you to revoke the trust and withdraw all the trust assets and use those assets towards the cost of care.

The only type of trust that will truly protect your life savings and your family home in the event of a catastrophic illness is an irrevocable medicaid trust , where the language of the trust agreement appropriately complies with the federal and state Medicaid requirements.

Revocable Trust + Long Term Care Insurance

For those who do not want to use an Irrevocable Trust to protect your life savings, but still desire to achieve the other benefits of having a Trust, then a Revocable Trust is ideal. If you also want to protect your life savings with a Revocable Trust, then purchasing Long Term Care Insurance should be considered.

At the Koldin Law Center, P.C. located in East Syracuse, New York, we have over 50 years of experience helping elderly individuals plan for immediate crisis and long term care. Our firm represents clients in Onondaga county and throughout all of Upstate New York.

Contact our experienced Upstate New York elder law attorneys to schedule a free initial consultation. We are available for home and hospital visits and our flat fees are very reasonable.

Practice Areas

Basic Estate Planning

Trust Planning

Medicaid Planning And MedicaidApplications

Planning For Individuals With Disabilities

Probate And EstateAdministration