About Jeffrey Smith
Jeffrey Smith, Licensed Insurance Agent and Estate Planning Expert
Jeffrey Smith is a licensed life insurance, health insurance, property and casualty insurance agent and retirement specialist with over a decade of experience. He is the author of CreateALivingTrust.com and Marketing Director of Bulletproof Legacy Financial, based in Medford, Oregon.
Articles by Jeffrey Smith
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Rental Property in a Living Trust: Benefits, Limits, and Liability Considerations
Rental Property in Living Trust: Probate Benefits, Tax Rules, and Liability Limits Understand Probate Planning, Trust Funding, Mortgages, Taxes, Insurance, and Why a Living Trust Is Not a Liability Shield Key Takeaways If you own rental property and you’re wondering whether a living trust belongs in your estate plan, the short answer is: probably yes…
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Does a Living Trust Protect Assets From Medicaid?
Does a Living Trust Protect Assets From Medicaid? Eligibility and Trust Rules Explained Understand Why Revocable Trust Assets Are Generally Available for Medicaid Eligibility and Why Long-Term-Care Trust Planning Is Different A living trust usually will not shield your assets from Medicaid if you funded it yourself and kept the right to change or cancel…
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How Does a Revocable Living Trust Work During Incapacity?
Revocable Living Trust Incapacity Planning: How a Successor Trustee Can Step In Understand Successor Trustee Authority, Trust Assets, Capacity Provisions, and How a Trust Fits With Powers of Attorney Article-at-a-Glance One sentence answers the headline question: a properly drafted and funded revocable living trust names someone to manage your money and property the instant you…
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How Long Does Probate Take? A Practical Timeline
How Long Does Probate Take? Key Stages, Delays, and Timeline Factors Follow the Major Stages of Probate and Learn What Can Make Estate Administration Faster or Slower Probate rarely finishes on a fixed schedule, so if you’re hoping for a single number, the honest answer is: it depends on where the estate sits in the…
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Cost to Fund a Living Trust: Fees for Transferring Your Assets
Cost to Fund a Living Trust: Deeds, Transfers, and Professional Fees Explained Understand the Potential Costs of Deeds, Recording Fees, Account Retitling, Business Interests, and Professional Assistance Funding a living trust costs far less than most people expect, but the real question is not “how much” — it’s “which assets, and how.” Trust funding fees…
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How to Choose Beneficiaries for a Living Trust
Living Trust Beneficiaries: How to Choose Who Inherits and Set Distribution Terms Plan Who Receives Trust Property, When They Receive It, and How Your Instructions Should Work Choosing the right beneficiaries for your living trust determines who actually receives your property, when they receive it, and whether your wishes get carried out the way you…
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Can You Sell a House That Is in a Living Trust?
Sell House in Living Trust: Trustee Authority, Closing Steps, and Tax Considerations Learn Who Can Sign, How Title and Closing Work, What Happens to Sale Proceeds, and Which Tax Rules May Apply Yes, you can sell a house that’s in a living trust, and in most cases it’s just as simple as selling a home…
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Living Trust and Step-Up in Basis: How Does It Work?
Living Trust Step Up in Basis: How Inherited Trust Assets May Receive a New Tax Basis Learn When Inherited Trust Assets May Receive a Basis Adjustment, Which Assets Follow Different Rules, and Why Trust Type Matters Key Takeaways Putting a house, a brokerage account, or a rental property into a trust doesn’t automatically change how…
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What Happens to a Revocable Living Trust When the Grantor Dies?
What Happens to a Revocable Trust When the Grantor Dies? Administration and Distribution Explained Learn When the Trust Becomes Irrevocable, What the Successor Trustee Does, and How Assets Are Administered and Distributed A revocable living trust does not spring into action on its own the moment someone dies. Real people have to do real work,…
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How Much Does Probate Cost? Fees and Expenses Explained
How Much Does Probate Cost? Breaking Down the Major Estate Administration Expenses Understand Court Costs, Attorney and Executor Fees, Appraisals, Accounting, and the Factors That Can Increase Estate Administration Expenses Probate can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands, and the final number depends far more on your state’s rules and…