You’ve worked hard to provide for your family, and now it’s time to consider their future. While many people think a simple will is enough, trusts offer powerful benefits that help you achieve your estate planning goals and ensure your legacy for generations to come.
Since 2012, San Diego estate planning lawyer Mark Ignacio has guided families to determine which trust options align with their unique needs and circumstances. Whether you want to minimize estate taxes, provide for a child with special needs, or support your favorite charitable causes, understanding the types of trusts for estate planning is the first step. Let's explore your options.
Revocable Living Trusts Offer Control and Flexibility
This document serves as the foundation of many estate plans. It allows you to maintain complete control over your assets during your lifetime while providing an efficient way to transfer property to your beneficiaries after your death.
With a revocable living trust, you can modify or terminate it at any time. You retain the ability to buy, sell, or refinance assets held in the trust. This flexibility makes it an attractive option for people whose circumstances may change.
The primary advantage of a revocable living trust is avoiding probate. Your beneficiaries receive their inheritance faster and with reduced costs. This trust also keeps the details of your estate private, whereas a will becomes public record during probate.
Irrevocable Trusts Provide Asset Protection
While you can’t modify or terminate an irrevocable trust after creation, it still offers considerable benefits for asset protection and tax reduction. Once you transfer property into an irrevocable trust, it's no longer considered part of your taxable estate—an essential wealth preservation strategy for California families.
Irrevocable trusts protect assets from creditors and are particularly useful for high-net-worth individuals concerned about estate tax liability or professionals in high-risk occupations wanting to shield assets from potential lawsuits.
Additionally, these trusts also allow you to set conditions on how and when beneficiaries receive their inheritance.
Charitable Trusts Create a Lasting Legacy
Charitable trusts allow you to support causes you care about while potentially reducing your tax burden. You can establish a charitable remainder trust to receive income during your lifetime, with the remaining assets going to your chosen charity upon your death.
Alternatively, a charitable lead trust provides income to a charity for a set period, with the remaining assets eventually passing on to your beneficiaries. These trusts offer immediate tax deductions and can help reduce estate taxes for your heirs.
Special Needs Trusts Protect Vulnerable Beneficiaries
If you have a loved one with disabilities, a special needs trust ensures they can receive an inheritance without losing access to essential state or federal benefits. This type of trust supplements rather than replaces government assistance programs.
The trustee can use funds to pay for additional care, services, and quality-of-life improvements not covered by government benefits. This might include specialized medical equipment, educational programs, or recreational activities.
Schedule a Consultation to Discuss Your Trust Options
A common question we get in estate planning is “I already have a will, so why do I need a trust, too?” As you can see, there are many advantages to knowing about all the solutions available to you. Fortunately, you don’t have to be an expert on California estate law to decide what’s right for your family. All you need is professional guidance you can trust from an estate planning lawyer who takes the time to really listen to your needs.
As a faith-based attorney, Mark Ignacio is committed to approaching every estate plan he creates from the responsibility of stewardship as well as caring deeply about his clients and their families as individuals. He’ll help you evaluate which trust options best protect what you’ve worked so hard to achieve and commit to your family's future goals.
To learn more about how dedicated we are to people just like you, check out our testimonials and five-star Google reviews from past clients.
