Every individual and family situation is different and therefore, leaving all of these decisions to a de facto law with absolutely no knowledge of your family or your wishes is, to put simply, ridiculous.
Would you like to own property as "Bob's Car Care Realty Trust?"
Trusts have become increasingly popular in this day and age. The thought of preventing "interference" with your assets and staying below the "radar," has led to a significant surge in the existence of revocable and realty trusts. Realty trusts and revocable trusts are both excellent tools to effect a smooth transition of assets during this lifetime and beyond.
When you record a Declaration of Trust and transfer property into that Trust, the record owner of this property is the Trust. A trust's terms and therefore, its trustee, are a matter of public record. However, the "in-fact" owner of the property is not a matter of public record. The property held by a trust is owned by the beneficiaries of that same trust. Trust beneficiaries are not publicly recorded and are usually known only by the drafter of the document, the Trustee and the beneficiaries themselves. The freedom of the Trustee to operate and control property can be restricted or maximized via the terms of a trust.
"I would like to put my property into a Trust, but I currently have a mortgage." This was a problem before 1982. However, in 1982, under the Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act, the federal government prohibited mortgage companies from using a transfer of residential property into a revocable trust from triggering the due on sale clause. In short, residential real estate, with less than five dwelling units, can be transferred into a trust without penalty from your lender.
Trusts are not an avoid all tool, especially when it comes to creditors. A common misconception is that creditors will not be able to touch assets that are held in a trust. Unfortunately, in most instances this is not true. However, do not minimize the increased difficulty of "finding" property that is held by a trust. Not many creditors will assume that John Smith is associated with the "Lumberjack Realty Trust," having "Evelyn Star" acting as Trustee.
Of course, there are always a few safety nets that should be put into place, naming conventions to be observed and a few small hoops to jump through to assure a smooth transition, but with a little help creating an effective trust is a simple process.