People set up living trusts for a variety of reasons but generally, it is to save time and money and/ or for extra privacy and control. The main reasons are: To avoid probate proceedings for beneficiaries after the grantor dies • To minimize estate taxes • To maintain financial privacy (the contents of a will are a matter of public record) • To maintain control and regulation over assets passed to minors or other family members • To make provisions for if the trust owner becomes incapacitated. A last will and testament must be validated by the Kansas courts – a process called 'probate'. While some states have initiated the Uniform Probate Code, which simplifies the probate process, Kansas has not. A living trust can help you avoid the complex probate process, which can delay the transfer of assets to beneficiaries and create extra costs for those left behind. A living trust circumnavigates this process and can make the transfer of assets less time-consuming and costly. The trustee can simply transfer assets according to the terms of the trust deed – a process that usually takes weeks instead of months. Once the assets in the trust fund have been transferred to the beneficiary, the trust ceases to exist. If assets need managing over a period of time on behalf of a beneficiary (for instance, until a minor child reaches the age of 19), the trust remains in existence until all assets have been transferred.