More Reasons to Give Your Family an RLT Package.

Estate planning isn’t just for the wealthy — it’s for anyone who is rich in love for their family.

My favorite approach to estate planning is the RLT Package, which includes a Revocable Living Trust (RLT), Power of Attorney, Backup Will, and Advance Care Plan. As Trustee, you manage your trust during your lifetime as long as you’re able. With the federal estate tax exemption now exceeding $14 million, most families can focus on personal goals such as caring for loved ones rather than avoiding estate taxes.

Your family will be thankful for the RLT package. For example, a widow recently visited me to settle her late husband’s trust. Having served as an executor before, she was amazed at how simple the RLT made everything. She was so impressed that she immediately purchased RLTs for her daughter and son-in-law—declaring she’d never be executor again!

In a recent LinkedIn article, I shared five great reasons to give your family an RLT Package. Here are a few more: better property management, simpler taxation, asset protection, and enhanced privacy.

The RLT is called “revocable” because you can easily update or cancel it at any time with a signed, notarized document. Think of it as a “test drive” for your trust — flexible and adjustable as your circumstances change.

Superior Management: After your death or incapacity, your chosen successor trustee follows your trust instructions to manage assets on your behalf. You determine how and when beneficiaries receive funds — for example, annual support for a child’s needs, with full distribution delayed until certain ages, or even incentives for meeting educational goals.

Asset Protection: Once you pass away, trust assets are shielded from beneficiaries’ creditors. My RLTs include a spendthrift provision, which can protect a beneficiary’s inheritance from lawsuits or even a divorcing spouse.

Tax Simplicity: During your lifetime, your RLT is tax neutral. It uses your Social Security number, so you report income from the trust on your own return—no separate tax ID or filing needed. After your death, the trust obtains its own tax ID and files returns until all assets are distributed.

Privacy: Without an RLT, your estate will likely go through probate, which makes your will and estate details public record. An RLT, by contrast, is a private contract. Tennessee law even allows certain trusts to remain confidential—sometimes even from family members.

There are many more reasons an RLT Package makes sense. In short, it’s one of the easiest, most thoughtful ways to manage and protect your legacy