Lifestyle Trust

This can include funding for education, healthcare, travel, leisure activities, charitable donations, and other personal expenses. By providing professional oversight and customized services, lifestyle trusts ensure that the beneficiaries' personal goals and preferences are met in a structured and sustainable manner. Here are some key highlights:

1. Asset Management: A lifestyle trust allows for the management and distribution of assets during the grantor's lifetime and after their death. The grantor can retain control over the trust assets while alive, but also have a mechanism in place for their management in case of incapacity or death.
2. Probate Avoidance: One of the primary benefits of a lifestyle trust is that it can help avoid probate, the legal process through which a deceased person's assets are distributed. Since assets held in a trust are not considered part of the probate estate, they can typically be distributed more quickly and privately than assets that go through probate.
3. Privacy: Trusts offer a level of privacy that wills do not. When a will goes through probate, it becomes a matter of public record, whereas trusts generally remain private documents.
4. Incapacity Planning: A lifestyle trust can provide instructions for the management of assets in the event of the grantor's incapacity. This can include appointing a successor trustee to manage the trust assets and make financial decisions on behalf of the grantor.
5. Flexibility: Trusts can be highly customizable to suit the specific needs and goals of the grantor and their beneficiaries. They can include provisions for the distribution of assets over time, conditions on distributions, and more.
6. Tax Planning: While lifestyle trusts are primarily used for non-tax purposes, they can also be structured to minimize estate taxes, especially for larger estates. However, tax laws can be complex and subject to change, so it's essential to consult with a tax professional or estate planning attorney when setting up a trust.
7. Continuity: Trusts can provide for the seamless transfer of assets upon the grantor's death, avoiding the delays and uncertainties that can accompany the probate process.

A lifestyle trust can be a valuable tool in estate planning, offering benefits such as probate avoidance, privacy, incapacity planning, and flexibility in asset management and distribution.