55 Days To Go! Overdue Tasks: Creating a U.S.-Based Trust

Before we leave the U.S., we have a laundry list of affairs to handle, many of which are:

A. Not exciting;

B. Have been put off for years.

One that we certainly should have completed a long time ago was to create a Revocable Trust for our assets.

We did start the process maybe 18 months ago; we had a referral to an estate planner who, for the low-low price of $4,500, would send us a packet of forms to fill out, and his coordinator would prepare the Trust for us. If an unlicensed assistant could prepare the documents, we couldn't justify parting with $4,500 for this service. And naturally, then it was off of our minds entirely, replaced with the day-to-day decisions to make.

Over the weekend, we finally committed to sorting out a plan, and came across Trust & Will. It cost $509 total for us to have a Revocable Trust created. Their program was incredibly simple and straightforward; it went step-by-step, asked multiple-choice questions, which then directed us to make decisions. All in, it was a 30-minute exercise. We were able to add in our Belize properties, which was really important to us; once our primary residence in the U.S. sells, we won't hold any further real estate assets in America.

Speaking with our Belizean Attorney, he said to create a Trust in the States, and then list the Trust as an asset in our Belizean will (coming at a later date). That will close the loop/tie both documents together.

Trust & Will allowed us to download and print the documents instantly, or we could opt to have them printed and shipped to us for free. Or, rather, for no additional charge, seeing as they already had us for $509. We should have our documents within 1-2 weeks, then we'll have to sign them in front of a notary to make them legal, and open and fund a bank account in the Trust's name.

Choosing a name was probably the longest part of setting it up, as both Nathan and I love innuendos and funny names; in the end, we went with something less-titillating, since we will have to refer to them in the Belizean will, and didn't want to blush saying the Trust's name out loud to our more-proper attorney.

I had heard of both Revocable and Irrevocable Trusts - the primary difference is, a Revocable Trust can easily be edited as time goes by - you can add/delete/change beneficiaries, name new charities to receive funds, you name it. With all of the changes we have coming up with an international move, this was definitely the way to go for us.

If you have been putting off your estate planning, we highly suggest Trust & Will - it was through yet not intimidating.

One item down, yet it feels like my list continues to grow...ugh!