Is LegalZoom a Good Way to Create a Living Trust?

LegalZoom has helped more than 100,000 people protect their families with a living trust. Having one helps communicate your wishes so your loved ones aren't left guessing or dealing with the courts.

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is legalzoom a good way to create a living trust

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Updated on: January 31, 2025
Read time: 5 min

A living trust can be an essential piece of your estate plan. It allows you to communicate your wishes, plan for the management of your assets, and avoid probate with one document.

LegalZoom has helped more than 150,000 people create their living trusts and is a simple way to get your affairs in order.

Here is what you should know about creating a living trust.

What is a living trust?

A woman giving a man a hug after setting up LegalZoom living trust.

A Living Trust is a legal document that states who you want to manage and distribute your property if you're unable to do so, and who receives it when you pass away. You set up a legal trust with just one document. The assets in the trust then pass according to the terms of the trust—not your last will. And therefore, if properly set up, assets do not go through probate. While a last will and a living trust both lay out how to transfer your assets after you pass, there are some key differences between them. A last will may be easier to set up, but it often needs to go through the court probate process after you're gone. A fully funded living trust should avoid probate, but transferring your assets into a trust can take more time and require additional paperwork. You should talk to an attorney to help you decide which is best. They'll help you make an informed decision after reviewing your estate size, family situation, state laws, and other factors.

In the trust document, you name a trustee. This is the person who manages the trust during your lifetime (if you can no longer do so yourself) and then distributes the assets to your trust beneficiaries after you are gone. You can be the trustee and name an alternate who steps in when needed.

You also name your beneficiaries and determine how and when they will receive the assets in the trust. For example, you might decide you don't want your children to get their inheritance when they are 30 or they have graduated from college. You can create almost any terms you want.

Benefits of a living trust

Living trusts are popular because they offer many benefits and few drawbacks:

  • Assets that are legally owned (titled) in the trust do not go through probate.
  • Trust assets typically can be distributed faster after death (whereas assets passing through a will must go through the probate process).
  • You can use and spend the trust assets during your life.
  • The trust can be changed or revoked at any time you choose.
  • Since trusts can avoid probate court (a public proceeding), they are more private.

Important things to know about living trusts

There are a few things you need to keep in mind to ensure your living trust can offer you the most benefits:

  • Once you sign the trust document, you must transfer the title of any asset you want into the trust's name. Bank accounts, real estate, investments, vehicles, etc. must be placed in the name of the trust to be included. This is called funding the trust.
  • While a living trust allows you to keep most of your assets out of probate, it does not circumvent estate taxes. Understanding estate tax exemptions and how to make the most of them is important.

When should you create a living trust?

The perfect time to create a living trust is right now.

Many people don't think about estate planning until a major change in their families, such as marriage, divorce, or the birth of children or grandchildren. Although people think about estate planning when those milestones come along, they are busy. One way to ensure estate planning doesn't slip through the cracks when you don't have a lot of time is to create one from your home with LegalZoom.

Why choose LegalZoom for your living trust?

LegalZoom offers a simple online process for creating your own living trust that is affordable, completely legit, and trustworthy. It not only provides a smooth and convenient online process that can include attorney advice and review of your documents.

A LegalZoom living trust is state-specific and goes into effect once you sign it.

When you create your living trust with LegalZoom, you decide who will benefit from your trust and who will manage it. Your completed documents can be downloaded, or you can opt to have LegalZoom print them on archival paper and mail them to you.

Create a living trust as part of an estate-planning package

A living trust solves many of your estate-planning goals, but to fully protect yourself and your family, it's a good idea to create a complete package of estate-planning documents, including:

  • Last will and testament: Although your living trust will own and distribute as many assets as you want, a will should also be in place to handle assets that were not transferred to the trust or overlooked. LegalZoom's living trust includes the option to add this Last Will (aka a pour-over will) at no extra charge.
  • Living will: A living will (also called a healthcare directive) details your wishes about what type of medical care you do and do not want to receive if you cannot make your own decisions. You can make decisions in advance about ventilators, feeding tubes, life support, and more. If you cannot, you can also name someone to make medical decisions for you.
  • Power of attorney: This document gives authority to the person of your choice to make financial decisions on your behalf if you cannot do so yourself.

A living trust combined with these three documents provides you with a comprehensive estate plan to help ensure you and your family are cared for in the future.

A LegalZoom living trust gives you control and flexibility over your assets and gives you peace of mind that your loved ones will be cared for when you are gone. Knowing you can control your assets yourself and depend on your trustee to distribute them exactly as you wish is a great benefit. LegalZoom's trusted process and access to skilled attorneys means you can count on them to help you carry out your wishes.

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This article is for informational purposes. This content is not legal advice, it is the expression of the author and has not been evaluated by LegalZoom for accuracy or changes in the law.

53 days ago
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Grateful to Patti Green

Patti Green helped me so much to finish my order. She was very patient and pleasant with me and guided me so well with my living trust. She made it clear and explained things that I could understand to finish this. She is an asset to your company and I would recommend her with excellence

CU
55 days ago
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I had no Idea what to do to update my…

I had no Idea what to do to update my Living Trust. They answered all my questions and they also helped me get info I did not know I needed.

Bryan Q
61 days ago
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Living Trust Premium

Our Representative, Stormy was fantastic! She stayed with us through the whole process. She was very helpful and thorough.

sremeikis
69 days ago
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I spoke to the representative today about a Trust...

I spoke to the representative today regarding a question about an existing Living Trust. She was very helpful - told me exactly what I needed to know and how to accomplish it. As a representative in the Financial field I guide clients all the time on where to get documents done right - and its always LegalZoom - easy and effecient!

Gareth
71 days ago
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LegalZoom

I was impressed by the user-friendly interface and the outstanding support I received while creating a Revocable Living Trust. The ability to connect with support representatives in real time to address my questions was incredibly valuable. For those looking to establish a straightforward trust, I can highly recommend LegalZoom.

TDM
77 days ago
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Rida has been very helpful with respect…

Rida has been very helpful with respect o guiding me through the process of properly revising the Living trust for my elderly parents. His patience has been exemplary.

Frantz Michel
85 days ago
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Elizabeth Tisdale

Elizabeth Tisdale, knowledgeable,been having problems with the forms in my living trust,for the past two weeks and had to pay every time, Elizabeth was patient with me and explained every detail until it was corrected,she get my 5 stars

MARIA CORONA
85 days ago
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Taking the Initiative

Taking the initiative to do the info. research on our living Trust...set up back in 2016..Made the call an efficient, as well as a pleasant experience. Very thorough and friendly. Set up our atty consultation Thanks for great service!

Vicki Switzer
92 days ago
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Carmen was so patient with me

Carmen was so patient with me! Thank you for all your direction and guidance with my living Trust! Great job!

Tina Garcia
95 days ago
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Tammy was wonderful and very…

Tammy was wonderful and very knowledgeable. It's because of her that I am going to open a living trust with legal zoom. She was great. Thank You

Erin
103 days ago
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Pleasant Experience

Patience and weel given explanation about the process of how a "Living Trust" & "Deed" works after transitioning and guidance on how to contact an attorney whenever I need legal advice.

Sharron Martin
103 days ago
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Excellent LegalZoom Attorney

The LegalZoom attorney was extremely helpful in the "walk thru" assistance as I prepared the Living Trust document. The service was excellent.

customer
112 days ago
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Happy with my initial contact with Legal Zoom

Rebecca fully answered my questions about creating a living trust. She is friendly and professional, and with my mind at ease, I am looking forward to starting this process with Legal Zoom. I am confident that this will be the best route for me to take to make things a lot easier for my family when I'm gone. (And, easy for me!) I plan to be in touch in the next several weeks. Thanks, Rebecca!

Carol
130 days ago
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Michelle very professionally guided me…

Michelle very professionally guided me with her knowledge and amazing patience through the entire process of setting up my Living Trust. I am so relieved and grateful for her help. I have used LegalZoom before and you are my go to for legal advice. Thank you again Michelle.

Paula Bateman
138 days ago
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Quality Staff

I needed to revise my entire living trust and had put it off for years. Your staff member Eden walked me through the process with such patience and concern. Had I known it would be so easy, I would have never put it off this long. A testament to you quality staff.

Ady Filipescu
147 days ago
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Really great job in guiding me to…

Really great job in guiding me to finish my living trust .

Ronnie Ball
153 days ago
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5 Stars

5 Stars – Outstanding Customer Service from Tammy at LegalZoom I had the pleasure of working with Tammy from LegalZoom regarding my living trust documents, and I couldn't be more impressed. She was professional, patient, and incredibly knowledgeable. Tammy took the time to walk me through every step, answered all my questions clearly, and made a complex process feel simple and stress-free. Her attention to detail and genuine care made all the difference. LegalZoom is lucky to have someone like her on their team. Thank you, Tammy!

Cn
153 days ago
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Ease and help of making changes to my…

Ease and help of making changes to my living trust. LegalZoom rep walked me through the process without any difficulties. Really like working with LegalZoom.

Gregory Bechtol
160 days ago
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Enjoyed working with Kevin to finalize…

Enjoyed working with Kevin to finalize our Living Trust language. His knowledge on this product certainly increases our confidence in the viability of the final document.

JOHN in CALIFORNIA
Rated4.6out of 5 based on23,873+ reviewson

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