| name | revocable-living-trust |
| title | Revocable Living Trust |
| description | Drafts revocable living trust documents with declaration of trust, funding schedules, trustee succession, beneficiary designations, and administrative powers tailored to state law. Covers individual and joint trusts, spendthrift clauses, and incapacity planning. Use when drafting living trusts, inter vivos trusts, revocable trusts, or estate planning trust instruments. |
| author | CaseMark |
| author_url | https://github.com/CaseMark/skills/tree/main/skills/legal/revocable-living-trust |
| license | Apache-2.0 |
| version | 0.1.0 |
| execution_mode | open |
| jurisdiction | us |
| practice | trusts-and-estates |
| language | en |
Revocable Living Trust
Drafts a revocable living trust preserving grantor control during lifetime with seamless asset transfer at death, tailored to applicable state law.
Prerequisites
Gather before drafting:
- Grantor(s) — full legal name, address, state of residence, marital status, individual vs. joint trust
- Beneficiaries — primary/contingent names, relationships, distribution preferences (per stirpes/per capita), minor age restrictions
- Assets — real property (legal descriptions, APNs), financial accounts, business interests, significant personal property
- Trustees — initial, successor (first/second/third), co-trustee arrangements, corporate trustee preferences
- Distribution plan — specific bequests, age-based schedules, outright vs. continued trust, spendthrift needs
- State requirements — execution formalities, community property vs. common law, applicable trust code
Document Sections
1. Declaration of Trust
Include: trust name (grantor name + year, e.g., "The John Smith 2026 Revocable Living Trust"), grantor full legal name and address, effective date, initial trustee (typically grantor; both spouses for joint trusts), trust type (individual/joint with explicit revocability statement), capacity statement, primary purposes (lifetime management + death distribution), governing jurisdiction.
2. Trust Property and Funding
Attach asset schedule as exhibit, organized by category: real property (legal description, APN, address), financial accounts (bank, brokerage, retirement — flag qualified plan restrictions), business interests (entity name, ownership %, type), personal property (vehicles, valuables), and future funding language permitting ongoing additions without formal amendment.
3. Trustee Provisions
Define succession chain (initial → first/second/third successor or corporate trustee). Address:
- Incapacity definition and physician certification standard
- Triggering conditions: death, resignation, incapacity, removal
- Co-trustee decision-making protocol (if applicable)
- Written acceptance requirement and bond waiver
- Corporate trustee authorization
- Resignation procedure and replacement mechanism
4. Beneficiary Designations and Distributions
Lifetime: Unrestricted income and principal to grantor.
Post-death: For each beneficiary, specify name, relationship, share percentage, distribution type (outright/in trust), and conditions (age triggers, etc.).
Include: per stirpes vs. per capita designation, specific bequests, minor provisions with age-based schedule (e.g., 1/3 at 25, 1/3 at 30, balance at 35), spendthrift clause, contingent/residuary beneficiaries, ultimate disposition if all predecease.
