What Suze Orman Says About Having a Living Trust

See what Suze Orman says about Living Revocable Trust in this video which is an excerpt from the Suze Orman Show.

On page 33 of her book "You've Earn It, Don't Lose It", it says "Almost everyone should have a trust".

Almost everyone? Then the natural questions is who should not have a living trust. The book answers that question on the same page.. "People who can pass property and assets by a probate affidavit or other informal procedure should not have a trust. For those who are in the midst of applying for Medicaid or if there is a strong possibility, because of age and financial conditions, that such assistance may be needed in the near future, a trust is not recommended as well."

A living trust is a legal document that "are often used because they may allow assets to be passed to heirs without going through the process of probate" ^[ref]. Probate is the legal process when the courts distributes your assets to your heirs and beneficiaries upon your death. And this can be costly and takes a lot of time.

Living trust is similar to a will in some ways. Although you should still have a will even if you have a living trust as explained in Nolo's Living Trust FAQ.

It is possible to create a living trust without a laywer and it can even be done online -- LegalZoom.com and Nolo's Online Living Trust are just a couple of examples. There are also many do-it-yourself-software-kits including "Suze Orman's Will and Trust Kit". Although in many cases, it is still recommended to have a legal professional review it.

She is probably most well known for her CNBC's personal finance talk show "The Suze Orman Show" that includes answering callers questions. She also has written many personal finance books many of which have been on the New York Times Best Seller list.

In 2008, Suze Orman was on the Time Magazine 100 list as among the "world's most influential people". In 2009, Forbes put her at number 18 in the list of Most Influential Women in Media.