At eight months pregnant, I eased into a chair at a law firm specializing in estate law, and my husband and I signed and initialed a full set of estate documents.

We’d gotten the car seat, the crib, and the onesies. But doing this — ensuring our child and each other were protected — was one of our highest priorities in those last few weeks before our son was born.

Five years later, we just paid our lawyer another visit to make a few updates to our documents. And having those protections in place continues to bring us immense peace of mind.

Of course, my husband and I wanted to ensure that our son was taken care of and our wishes respected in the unlikely event that both of us died. And we wanted to spare our family the time and financial burden of chasing our assets through probate court.

But we were also able to deal with a situation that a basic will just can’t cover — what would happen to us, our son, and our assets in the event that we were temporarily or permanently incapacitated. And that’s where a living revocable trust comes in.

I am a HUGE proponent of setting up trusts for yourself and your spouse! The benefits are enormous. And trusts are not nearly as complicated as you might think.

So what is a living revocable trust? And is a living revocable trust right for you? [Read more…]