As an estate planning tool, a living trust won't serve its purpose if it isn't appropriately funded or properly executed by an attorney, who are the only ones legally permitted to draft living trusts. When the titles on all of the assets are shifted, the assets are owned by the trust and the trust is funded. Subsequently, the attorney ensures that the living trust meets a state's legal requirements and prepares the document for the grantor's signature. Legal title to the assets in a living trust is turned over to a successor trustee, who has the responsibility of managing the trust. The trust contains directions for handling the assets during the grantor's lifetime or when the grantor experiences physical or mental incapacity.
Grantors can name themselves as trustees if they wish.
The trustee's appointment, unlike, for example, the appointment of a guardian, does not require the sanction of a court. The living trust allows grantors to offer guidance for handling their assets during their lifetime and how they will be distributed after their death. After the grantor dies, a successor trustee either discontinues the trust or continues to maintain the trust for the benefit of the beneficiaries. Williams had a client who was terminally ill and the client's living trust enabled her to look after her affairs as long as she could and then allowed another trustee to take over as the client's health declined. If married couples have living trusts, both spouses can be grantors, as well as co-trustees, so either one of them can act for the other.