Is a Living Trust Really the Best Way to Pass Inheritance to Your Family?
This article is intended for educational purposes only and is not legal advice. For guidance on your personal situation, please contact a lawyer.
Though estate planning can seem morbid, taking steps now helps ensure your wishes are carried out and your loved ones are provided for when the time comes.
The core of your wishes may well be the disposition of your assets, i.e., who gets what, when, and how. A popular way to address that inevitability is the living trust. Basically, you transfer assets to a trust and appoint a trustee -- which can be (and typically is) yourself -- to manage them as you see fit. When you die, the successor trustee distributes those assets according to your instructions.
Source Fool.com