Living Trusts in Mississippi
A living trust is a way to control what happens to your property after you die, without the probate process that results from using a will. Mississippi law, in this case, means probate can be particularly complicated; however, people using a living trust still need some form of will to retain full control over the handling of their assets after they die.
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Concept
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A living trust is a document signed by a person who wants to designate somebody else to manage his estate after his death. This is an alternative to a will and is mainly designed to avoid the probate process, which is the legal examination of a will's validity after a person's death. With probate, the legal documents become public record; with a living trust, this only happens when a beneficiary or a trustee asks a court to approve accounts.
Mississippi Specifics
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Mississippi uses its own probate laws rather than those of the comparatively simpler Uniform Probate Court. This arguably strengthens the case for using a living trust.
Mississippians using a living trust should still have a will, which can be as simple as a declaration that any property not already part of the trust is transferred to the trust upon the person's death. If the person does not have a will, any such property (that the person acquired after the living trust is set up, for example) will pass automatically to her nearest relatives.
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Scams
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The AARP warns that salesmen often target living trust services at people who would not benefit from them. This can include misleading people about the effects of estate taxes (which are unaffected by the existence of a living trust) or even implying the AARP has endorsed living trust services.
Under federal rules, anyone who buys living trust services in a place other than the seller's permanent place of business has three business days to cancel the purchase.
Filing
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Whoever controls a living trust is required to file IRS Form 1041 to report on the activities of the trust, including any income tax liabilities. For trusts located in Mississippi, these must be filed at the Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service Center, Ogden, Utah, 84201-0048.
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