Updated June 29, 2022
The Idaho revocable living trust is an entity created by an individual so they may continue to benefit from their property and other assets while avoiding the probate process when they die. A revocable trust can be altered or revoked at any point during the Grantor’s (creator of the trust) lifetime, but becomes irrevocable after death. Although an Idaho revocable living trust does not aid in saving State or Federal estate taxes, it will prevent the Grantor’s assets from being controlled by a conservator. The Trustee, or Successor Trustee, appointed by the Grantor will remain in charge of handling the Trust rather than a court-appointed agent. Upon the death of the Grantor, the contents of the living trust are distributed to the Beneficiaries by the Trustee. This process takes place out of probate court, which is beneficial as probate can be a lengthy and costly process in the State of Idaho.
Laws – Title 15, Chapter 7 (Trust Administration)
How to Write
Step 1 – Download in Adobe PDF (.pdf), Microsoft Word (.docx), or Open Document Text (odt).
Step 2 – Begin filling out the form, starting with the name of the Grantor at the top and the date below that. Next, enter the names and addresses of the Grantor and the Trustee. Continue to Article 1 and establish a name for the Trust, and disclose whether it is an amendment to another trust or a new trust altogether.
Step 3 – Advance to Article 4, Section A and enter the names of the individuals or organizations who will collect the property held by the Trust once the Grantor dies.
Step 4 – The individuals inheriting any of the Grantor’s personal property shall be named in Section B of Article 4. If it will simply be the named Beneficiaries, select the first checkbox. If a specific person is to inherit the personal property, select the second checkbox and enter that person’s information.
Step 5 – Under the “Pet Trust” section of Article 4, write down the name and address of the person who will be taking care of the Grantor’s pets after they die. A second name and address must be provided in case something were to happen to the first Pet Caretaker.
Step 6 – Any funding that is to be provided to the Pet Caretaker will be mentioned in Article 4, Section C, Part (ii). Select the first checkbox if the Grantor plans on granting the Pet Caretaker any money and provide the dollar amount. Select the second checkbox if no money is to be provide for pet care.
Step 7 – Part (iii) continued in Section C asks for the name of the individual who will make sure the funding given to the Pet Caretaker is being used in an appropriate manner.
Step 8 – Any other property and income that hasn’t been mentioned will be divided between the Beneficiaries mentioned under Section D of Article 4.
Step 9 – Scroll down to Article 10 and fill in the blank spaces to establish a time period that the Beneficiaries will have to wait between requesting a report of the contents of the Trust.
Step 10 – Next, enter the names and addresses of the Successor Trustee and 2nd Successor Trustee in the fields provided under Article 13.
Step 11 – To endow compensation to the Trustee, navigate to Section I of Article 13 and select one of the options; either no compensation or some compensation.
Step 12 – Under Article 15, enter the number of days that the Beneficiar must survive past the death of the Grantor in order to benefit from the Trust.
Step 13 – Article 17 pertains to the Grantor’s marriage; select the box that applies best to their current situation. If the second checkbox is selected, the spouse’s name must be written out.
Step 14 – Advance to Article 18 and enter the names of the Grantor’s children.
Step 15 – The Grantor may choose to purposefully exclude some individuals or organizations from benefiting from the Trust. These names can be entered into the available space under Article 21.
Step 16 – Article 22 gives the Grantor the power to change the Trust and revoke the contents at any point in time during their life. In order to legitimize this power, the Grantor, Trustee, and Successor Trustee must include their signature, printed name, and the date.
Step 17 – The Self-Proving Affidavit must be complete with the State and County in which the Trust was established, as well as signatures from the Grantor, Trustee, Successor Trustee, 2nd Successor Trustee, Witness #1, and Witness #2. Dates must also be included when the signatures are made. The notary public can fill out the past section of the affidavit.
Step 18 – A list of all assets assigned to the Trust should be mentioned on the page marked “Attachment A”.
