Yes, trusts can avoid probate in Missouri. When you create a trust and transfer your assets to it, the assets are no longer subject to probate when you pass away. This can save your beneficiaries time and money by avoiding the often lengthy and expensive probate process.
The cost of setting up a trust in Missouri varies depending on the complexity of the trust and the attorney's fees. A basic Revocable Living Trust generally ranges from $1,000 to $3,000. More complex trusts can cost several thousand dollars more. Online services like Snug can provide a more affordable alternative to traditional legal services, offering estate planning services, including trusts, at a lower cost.
A Revocable Living Trust is the most common type of trust people set up, offering flexibility and control over your assets during your lifetime and helping to avoid probate. Other types of trusts, such as Charitable Trusts, Special Needs Trusts, and Irrevocable Trusts, may be appropriate depending on your specific circumstances and goals.
Funding a trust in Missouri involves transferring ownership of your assets to the trust. For real estate, a new deed must be prepared with the trust as the owner. Bank accounts should be retitled in the name of the trust, and other assets like vehicles, personal property, stocks, and bonds must also be formally transferred to the trust.
In Missouri, any individual who is at least 18 years old and mentally competent can serve as a trustee. Furthermore, Missouri law allows corporations, such as banks or trust companies, to serve as a trustee if they are authorized to exercise trust powers in the state. Trustees must be able to manage and care for property, and they can't have been convicted of serious crimes, including felonies or crimes that involve dishonesty or a breach of trust.
In Missouri, to modify your living trust, you will need to prepare an amendment to the original trust document. The amendment should contain clear details about the changes you want to make, such as altering or removing beneficiaries, changing trustees, or modifying distribution instructions. The amendment must include the date, your name, the name of the trust, and the date when the trust was formed. This amendment, like the original trust document, must be signed in front of a notary public. If there are numerous changes to be made to your living trust, it might be more convenient to create a restatement of the trust. A restatement allows you to rewrite the entire trust, while preserving the original date and title of the trust, which is advantageous for avoiding the reassignment of assets. In the restatement, you will include all the changes you wish to make, and these new provisions will entirely replace the old ones.
