Revocable living trust
A trust you create and control during life that avoids probate on the assets it holds, keeps your estate plan private, and provides seamless management if you become incapacitated. Powerful, but only works on assets you actually transfer into it.
A revocable living trust () is a trust you create while alive, name yourself as the initial trustee, and retain full power to amend or revoke. Because you control it, for tax purposes it is a "grantor trust" — all income flows onto your personal 1040 during your lifetime, and there is no asset-protection benefit.
What an RLT gets you: (1) assets held in the trust skip probate entirely on your death, (2) your estate plan stays private (probate records are public; trust terms are not), (3) if you become incapacitated, your successor trustee can manage trust assets without a court-appointed conservator, and (4) for out-of-state real estate, the trust can avoid ancillary probate in that state.
What an RLT does NOT get you: no estate-tax reduction (assets in the RLT are still in your taxable estate), no creditor protection during your lifetime, and no benefit at all for assets you never actually transferred into the trust. "Funding" — moving title of real property, brokerage, and bank accounts into the name of the trust — is the step most DIY trusts fail at.
Pair every RLT with a "pour-over" will: a short will that sweeps any probate assets you missed into the trust at death. Retirement accounts (IRAs, 401(k)s) generally stay OUT of the trust; name individuals as beneficiaries directly, otherwise you can collapse valuable tax-deferred stretch-out options.
Tagged 🟡 because the document itself can be templated cleanly, but the funding step is subtle, the interaction with retirement-account beneficiaries is technical, and mistakes are often only discovered at death when they are uncorrectable.
State-specific notes
For federal income tax purposes, a revocable trust is a grantor trust (IRC §§ 671–679) — you report all trust income on your personal return, and the trust itself files no separate return while you are alive. Assets in the RLT are fully included in your federal gross estate at death. Revocable trusts do not receive their own federal tax ID until after the grantor's death (then they convert to a non-grantor trust and obtain an EIN).
Virginia has adopted the Uniform Trust Code (Title 64.2, Chapter 7). Deeds transferring Virginia real property into a revocable trust are generally exempt from the grantee recordation tax under § 58.1-811(D) when the grantor is the sole present beneficiary; bring the trust document (or a certification of trust) to the circuit court when you record. Virginia does not require trust registration.
West Virginia has adopted the Uniform Trust Code (Chapter 44D). Similar treatment for real-property transfers into an RLT; confirm with the clerk at recording. West Virginia does not require trust registration.
Alabama recognizes revocable living trusts under the Uniform Trust Code (Ala. Code § 19-3B-101 et seq., specifically § 19-3B-602 for revocation). An RLT is the primary Alabama probate-avoidance tool for real estate because Alabama has NOT adopted a Transfer-on-Death Deed statute. Assets remain reachable by the settlor's creditors during life under Ala. Code § 19-3B-505(a)(1), so the RLT provides no asset protection for the grantor.
References
Prepare your attorney-intake packet
This strategy requires licensed counsel to draft. Use the builder to capture your facts, intent, and questions in an attorney-ready packet — you'll hand it to the lawyer who actually drafts the trust or agreement. This is not a legal instrument and does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Execution playbook
A checklist with state-specific flags and a bridge-to-pro section for revocable living trust.