Control from Beyond the Grave (In a Totally Responsible Way)

We get it—estate planning doesn’t exactly scream excitement. But if you’re thinking about how to protect your assets, make life easier for your loved ones, and skip the mess that is probate court, a revocable living trust is kind of a big deal.

It’s one of the most flexible, practical tools you can add to your estate plan—and spoiler alert: it’s probably more accessible than you think.

First, What Is a Revocable Living Trust?

A revocable living trust is a legal document that lets you decide how your assets should be managed while you’re alive and how they should be distributed after you’re gone.

You’re in full control as long as you’re alive and well. You can update it, change it, or cancel it altogether. And when the time comes—whether due to incapacity or death—your named trustee takes over and carries out your instructions.

All without dragging your family through probate court. Yes, really.

Why Do People Set Up a Revocable Trust?

Glad you asked. Here’s why so many people choose to include one in their estate plan:

You Stay in Control (Even After You’re Gone)- Parenting from beyond the grave!

A trust gives you way more say in how your assets are handed down. Want to space out distributions over time? Limit what a beneficiary can use funds for? Set guardrails for minors or financially inexperienced heirs? You can do all of that—and more.

Imagine if you were to list your minor children as direct beneficiaries on your retirement accounts, life insurance and bank accounts. And you were to unexpectedly pass away. All that money would go into a blocked account until your child turns 18. And at 18, they would get ALL of it in one huge lump sum. Imagine handing any 18 year old hundreds of thousands of dollars. I don’t know about you, but if you handed me that kind of money at 18, I would have bought a Lamborghini

Example of parenting from beyond the grave: You can say that your young child only gets “25% of the money at age 18 for reasonable college expenses, another 25% at 25 for a down on a home or to continue their education, and the rest at 35 if they haven’t tried to turn it into a startup idea on TikTok.” Your call. This is why estate planning is so cool. You still can parent your children and set them up for sucess even if you’re not physically here with them anymore.

Skip the Probate Headache

Probate court is slow, expensive, and very, very public. Avoid the public seeing your life and business with an estate plan and trust. With a properly funded trust, your loved ones avoid the hassle entirely.

Assets held in a trust (or with the trust listed as a beneficiary) are managed privately and efficiently by your chosen trustee—no court appearances, no delays, no extra fees.

You Keep Your Business Private

Unlike wills, which become part of the public record once they hit probate, a trust is a private document. That means no one’s snooping through your financial life at the courthouse. Don’t want the world being able to see how you died? Who your kids are and where they live?

Your heirs won’t have to defend their inheritance from nosy neighbors, distant cousins, or curious acquaintances. What you pass down stays between you, your trustee, and your beneficiaries—just how it should be. This is why rich people have used trusts forever, keeping their business out of the public eye and keeping their assets outside of the state’s hands. 

So, Is a Revocable Living Trust Right for You?

If you want control, efficiency, and privacy, the answer is probably yes. Trusts can be a powerful part of your estate plan whether you have a modest estate or more complex assets. The key is setting it up the right way—and making sure it actually reflects your goals of setting your children and heirs up for success.

And lucky for you, we make that part simple.

Ready to protect what you’ve built together? Start your estate plan today. Looking for something budget-friendly? Check out our YEP packages!