Use of Revocable Living Trusts

[hukre]

It seems that just about every State has a Revocable Living Trust "standard" form. Why is it that those Living Trust forms vary greatly from State to State?.
I am under the impression that a Revocable Living Trust is not a document that enters in court proceedings like a Will, so why do some of these forms include all kind of instructions on how to put items in the trust, how to change the ownership designation of items, etc. etc.?

[pg1067]

It seems that just about every State has a Revocable Living Trust "standard" form.

Oh? I have never seen such a thing. While you can google "[name of a state] revocable living trust form," the forms you find are typically created by private individuals/entities.

Why is it that those Living Trust forms vary greatly from State to State?

I can't speak to the thought process of the various individuals/entities who have published trust forms on the internet, but I would suspect difference result from many things, including different authors and the fact that laws vary from state to state.

I am under the impression that a Revocable Living Trust is not a document that enters in court proceedings like a Will

I'm not sure what it might mean for a document to "enter[] in court proceedings." Trusts certainly can be, and often are, filed in court proceedings. If you're referring to the facts that trusts are generally not administered under court supervision, whereas wills may be filed with the probate court, then I agree.

why do some of these forms include all kind of instructions on how to put items in the trust, how to change the ownership designation of items, etc. etc.?

Again, I'm not privy to the thought process of unknown individuals/entities who publish forms on the internet, but I would assume that the reason for including instructions would be pretty obvious. Are you suggesting that it would be better to publish the forms without instructions? If so, why?

[adjusterjack]

Revocable Living Trust laws are somewhat different from state to state so you'll want to use forms that are drafted to conform to the individual state laws.

The reason for all the instructions is so you can get it right. After you're dead you can't fix it if you got it wrong.

[Taxing Matters]

It seems that just about every State has a Revocable Living Trust "standard" form. Why is it that those Living Trust forms vary greatly from State to State?.

What do you mean by "standard" form? That's a pretty vague description of whatever it is that you were looking at. Few if any states have statutory forms for revocable living trusts. It may be that in some states a particular form is widely used, perhaps because it's published in forms packet put out by the bar association, but lawyers tend to use such form samples as starting templates and then modify them to suit the needs of the particular client. There are forms out there for consumers to use, and those vary widely in quality and a particular form you might get online or from a bookstore (or wherever) may or may not suit the individuals needs and may or may not meet what may be needed under the applicable state law.

I am under the impression that a Revocable Living Trust is not a document that enters in court proceedings like a Will, so why do some of these forms include all kind of instructions on how to put items in the trust, how to change the ownership designation of items, etc. etc.?

Trusts do not go through the probate process estates do. Wills are the documents used to specify distribution of estate assets. Trust documents specify distribution of the trust assets. But while trusts do not go through the probate process, each state does have trust statutes that lay out what the requirements are for trusts and those laws do vary from state to state. Also, trusts do sometimes end up in litigation, so it's not accurate to say that trust documents do not end up in court proceedings.

If all you want is a very simple revocable trust that basically acts as a will substitute then some fill in the blank form you get off the internet or from some book might work just fine, assuming that the one you use does meet the essential requirements of your state's law. But you take a risk if you don't know the trust law well enough to judge whether the form you are looking at is any good. And if you need something more than just a will substitute then those types of forms probably aren't going to meet your needs. If you have significant assets and you really care about who gets them then it's a good idea to see an estate planning attorney for help.