What Is a Living Trust?

A living trust is a legal arrangement you create during your lifetime to hold and manage your property, both while you are alive and after you die. For many families, its biggest appeal is that property held in a properly funded living trust can pass to your loved ones without going through probate. But Washington has a quirk in its trust law that makes careful drafting essential, and understanding it helps explain why a living trust is worth doing right. For Snohomish County families, it can be a valuable piece of an estate plan. This topic is part of Washington wills and trusts.

The Basics of a Living Trust

A trust involves three roles. The person who creates the trust and puts property into it is called the "trustor" in Washington, which other states often call the settlor or grantor. The trustee manages the trust property. The beneficiaries are the people who benefit from it. In a typical living trust, you wear more than one hat: you are the trustor, you serve as your own trustee during your life, and you are the primary beneficiary while you are alive. You name a successor trustee to take over when you die or become unable to manage things, and you name the beneficiaries who will receive the property after you are gone. Related guides cover Can Trusts Protect Assets From Creditors? and What Is a Charitable Trust?.

"Living," or inter vivos, simply means the trust is created during your lifetime, as opposed to a trust created by your will after death. Washington's trust law is found mainly in chapters 11.98 and 11.103 RCW, which govern how trusts are created, managed, revoked, and amended.

The Washington Revocability Rule

Here is the detail that catches people off guard. Most people want a living trust to be revocable, meaning they can change or cancel it at any time while they are alive. In many states, a trust is revocable by default. Washington is the opposite.

Under RCW 11.103.030, unless the terms of a trust expressly provide that the trust is revocable, the trustor may not revoke or amend it. In other words, a Washington trust is presumed irrevocable unless the document affirmatively says it can be revoked. A well-drafted living trust includes that revocability language on purpose, which is exactly why this is not a place for guesswork or a generic template. If the document is silent, you could end up locked out of changing your own trust. When the trust is properly written as revocable, RCW 11.103.030 lets the trustor revoke or amend it by following the method in the trust, or by a later signed writing or a will that expressly refers to the trust, and on revocation the trustee delivers the property as the trustor directs.

What It Takes to Create a Valid Trust

Washington sets out clear requirements for a valid trust in RCW 11.98.011. A trust is created only if the trustor has the capacity to create it, the trustor indicates an intention to create the trust, the trust has a definite beneficiary or fits a recognized exception such as a charitable trust, the trustee has duties to perform, and the same person is not both the sole trustee and the sole beneficiary.

That last requirement rarely causes trouble in a normal living trust, because even when you are your own trustee and lifetime beneficiary, you have named other beneficiaries to receive the property after your death. As for capacity, RCW 11.103.020 provides that the capacity needed to create or revoke a revocable trust is the same as the capacity required to make a will. The bar is familiar and attainable for most adults.

How a Living Trust Avoids Probate

The probate-avoidance benefit is a matter of ownership. When you fund a living trust, you transfer the title of your assets, your home, accounts, and other property, from yourself as an individual into the trust. After that transfer, the trust owns the assets, not you personally. When you die, there is no individually owned asset to pass through probate, because the property is already held in the trust. Your successor trustee simply distributes it according to the trust's terms.

This probate-avoidance effect is a general principle of how revocable living trusts work, rather than a single line you can quote from the trust statutes, but it follows directly from the ownership structure. It is also why funding the trust matters so much. A living trust only avoids probate for the assets actually transferred into it. A trust document sitting in a drawer with no property retitled into it does little good. Common mistakes include creating the trust but never moving the house or accounts into it, which leaves those assets exposed to probate after all.

Living Trust Versus Will

People often ask whether a living trust replaces a will. The honest answer is that they do different jobs and usually work together. A will directs who gets your probate property and, importantly, lets you nominate a guardian for minor children, something a trust does not do. A living trust manages and transfers the assets placed in it, can provide for management of your property if you become incapacitated, and can keep those assets out of probate.

Most people who use a living trust also sign a "pour-over" will, which acts as a safety net by directing any assets that were not transferred into the trust during life to pour into it at death. A living trust can also offer privacy, since a probated will becomes a public record while a trust generally does not, and it can be useful for blended families, for providing for a beneficiary over time rather than in a lump sum, or for planning around property in more than one state.

Is a Living Trust Right for You?

A living trust is a strong tool, but it is not the only tool, and it is not necessary for everyone. Whether it makes sense depends on what you own, how you hold it, your family situation, and your goals. Some Washington families are well served by a will-based plan, while others benefit significantly from a living trust, especially those who want to avoid probate, plan for incapacity, or keep their affairs private.

Because Washington's revocability rule and funding requirements make the details matter, this is an area where good drafting and follow-through pay off. If you are weighing whether a living trust fits your situation, the Law Office of Chad Foster can help you compare your options and build a plan that actually does what you want it to. Reach out to start the conversation about protecting your family and your assets.