It’s usually good estate planning to set up a revocable trust, so you might want to set up a proper one anyway (using a competent lawyer) and straighten this out all at the same time.
Why is that good estate planning? Unless I am mistaken (and IANAL so I could be) a *revocable *trust is outside of probate but is still part of the estate for tax purposes. An irrevocable trust is not taxable to heirs but it is irrevocable.
If I am mistaken then I would appreciate clarity by those here with some expertise.
If my personal experience after my father’s death is any guide, nobody at the bank will know how to open a trust account, and the one person who agrees to try will insist on receiving a copy of the document that created the trust.
Also, my mother was similarly the trustee of my father’s trust, but we had to get a separate tax ID for the trust; we could not use hers. The trust is a legal entity separate from her or my father.
You may indeed be stymied without some additional legal help.
Just out of curiosity, I understand that the policy is now held by the trust, but who is the beneficiary? It’s not necessarily clear from what you’ve written.
{I am not your lawyer. Nothing in this message is intended or should be inferrred to create an attorney-client relationship. This is just anonymous chat.}
Because you may be able to avoid probate fees with a revocable trust. It’s usually better than just having a will alone, which is usually better than having no will. Of course, everybody’s situation is different.
You can avoid probate fees, and the headache of dealing with probate. In my state, it takes about a year to wrap up an estate and my understanding is that probate can take a lot longer in other states. You have to file an inventory and an accounting which cost money and take a good amount of time to prepare. Additionally they are a public record so any snoop with some free time can walk over to the courthouse to see what you owned and how much your heirs are getting or just got.