ABA Family Legal Guide

The Rights of Older Americans

A Right to Control Your Own Affairs

Living Trusts

Is a living trust just for someone who is incapacitated?

No. While it's an excellent way for someone to plan and avoid the need for a guardian or a conservator of the estate, a living trust also is useful for someone who wishes to turn over financial management of his or her affairs to another person.

To find out more about living trusts, contact an estate-planning lawyer in your state. He or she will be able to give you particulars about how your state's laws affect such trusts and about the consequences of making a trust.