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National estate-planning kit for couples
See page 1 of the actual declaration before you buy. A 13-document joint living trust kit for married couples: hold and manage your assets together while you are both alive — either spouse handling the day to day — with probate avoidance, privacy, and uninterrupted management if either spouse becomes incapacitated. At the first death, the deceased spouse’s share is distributed outright to the beneficiaries that spouse named; the survivor keeps no life interest in it. Every document is a fillable Word file — click the blanks and type, or print and complete by hand.
This 13-document kit covers the full lifecycle: establish the joint trust, fund it (assignment + schedules A–E), change it (amendment — each spouse can update their own beneficiary and separate-property schedules alone) or unwind it (revocation), catch what never got titled over (a pour-over will for each spouse), prove it to banks and title companies without revealing its terms (certification of trust), and let the trustee obtain the physician certifications the incapacity provisions call for (HIPAA authorization).
See page 1 of the actual declaration below. Your complete fillable Word download starts with a READ FIRST instructions booklet and includes schedules A–E, amendment and revocation forms, two pour-over wills, a certification of trust, and a HIPAA authorization — delivered after checkout.
Legal currency, verified
A joint revocable living trust for a married couple: one trust that holds and manages your property together while you are both alive, keeps your plan private, keeps the assets titled to it out of probate, and lets the surviving or capable spouse keep managing everything without a court. Page 1 of the actual declaration is previewed above before purchase.
When the first spouse dies, that spouse's share is set aside as the Deceased Spouse's Share, the trust pays or reserves for debts, expenses, taxes, and a reasonable reserve, and the rest is distributed outright to the beneficiaries that spouse named — as soon as reasonably practicable. The surviving spouse does not receive a life interest, income right, or right to use the deceased spouse's share (unless named as an outright beneficiary of it). If you want the survivor to be able to use the first spouse's share for life — the usual choice for blended families who want certainty plus support — that is our Credit Shelter (A-B) Trust Kit instead.
While you are both alive, each spouse can change their own beneficiary schedule and their own separate-property schedule alone (with notice to the other spouse) — so neither of you can freeze the other out of providing for their own children. Changes to the shared terms — the declaration itself, the shared-property schedule, trustees, the first-death plan, or a revocation touching joint, homestead, or tenancy-by-the-entirety property — always take both signatures.
A READ FIRST instructions booklet; the joint Declaration of Trust with Schedules A–E built in (A shared/community property, B and C each spouse's separate property, D and E each spouse's own beneficiaries); a General Assignment for untitled household property; amendment and revocation forms; two individual pour-over wills (one per spouse — never a joint will); a long-form Certification of Trust for banks, brokerages, and title companies; and a HIPAA Authorization & Waiver (included, PublicLegal item 1929) so the trustee can get the physician certifications the declaration's incapacity provisions call for. Every document is a fillable Word file — click the blanks and type, or print and complete by hand.
For assets titled to it, the trust avoids probate, keeps your plan private, and provides uninterrupted management if either spouse becomes incapacitated. Because you both keep control, it does not reduce estate taxes, does not shield assets from your own creditors, and does not help with Medicaid eligibility. Listing an asset on a schedule records your intent — it is not a transfer; deeds and account retitling do that, and the instructions walk through both-spouses-on-the-deed, homestead, and tenancy-by-the-entirety cautions state by state.
Drafted for a married couple serving together as their own first trustees, with each spouse's separate property and beneficiaries kept straight (the forms say Spouse 1 and Spouse 2 — no husband/wife assumptions). Unmarried joint settlors and Louisiana residents should not use this kit — both need forms drafted for their situation. Retirement accounts are never assigned to the trust; they pass by beneficiary designation, and the instructions explain the SECURE Act conversation to have with your adviser.
This form is not legal advice. It is a national kit; consult a licensed attorney in your state for advice about your situation.
ILRG is committed to top-quality legal forms. If you are not 100 percent satisfied after purchase, contact us for a full refund.
The trust sets aside the deceased spouse’s share — their separate property plus their interest in the shared property — pays or reserves for debts, expenses, taxes, and a reasonable reserve, and then distributes the rest outright to the beneficiaries that spouse named on their own beneficiary schedule, as soon as reasonably practicable. The surviving spouse keeps their own share (it stays revocable) but receives no life interest, income right, or right to use the deceased spouse’s share unless named as an outright beneficiary of it. If you want the survivor to have the use of the first spouse’s share for life, that is the Credit Shelter (A-B) Trust Kit instead.
Partly — and that is deliberate. While you are both alive, each spouse can amend their own beneficiary schedule and their own separate-property schedule alone, with written notice to the other spouse. Neither spouse can ever be frozen out of providing for their own children. But the shared terms — the declaration itself, the shared-property schedule, the trustees, the first-death plan, and any revocation touching joint, community, homestead, or tenancy-by-the-entirety property — always require both signatures.
Both spouses serve together as the first co-trustees, and either one may handle ordinary day-to-day administration alone — banking, deposits, routine investments, insurance. Major acts — selling or mortgaging real estate, large transactions — require both spouses’ joint consent. If one spouse becomes incapacitated (certified under the declaration’s two-physician standard — the included HIPAA authorization lets the trustee obtain those certifications), the other serves as sole trustee with no court appointment for trust property.
No. Because you both keep control and can revoke, the assets stay in your taxable estates and within reach of your own creditors, and this trust provides no Medicaid benefit. Its real benefits are probate avoidance, privacy, incapacity continuity, and certainty about where each spouse’s share goes. Couples who want the first spouse’s share locked in for their beneficiaries while supporting the survivor for life should consider the Credit Shelter (A-B) kit.
It is drafted for a married couple who will serve together as their own first trustees, and it keeps each spouse’s separate property and beneficiaries straight (the forms say Spouse 1 and Spouse 2 — no husband/wife assumptions). It is not for unmarried joint owners, and Louisiana residents should not use it — both situations need forms drafted for them. Retirement accounts are never assigned to the trust; they pass by beneficiary designation, and the instructions explain the SECURE Act conversation to have with your adviser.
Thirteen fillable Word documents, delivered instantly after checkout: a READ FIRST instructions booklet, the joint declaration of trust with schedules A–E built in, a general assignment, amendment and revocation forms, two pour-over wills (one per spouse), a long-form certification of trust, and a HIPAA authorization. Page 1 of the declaration is previewed above. Every purchase is covered by the 100% satisfaction guarantee.