Living Trust - how have you done it?

3175375

3175375

Old Man with a Hat
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I am planning on creating a living trust for myself.
I sat through a seminar back in 1993 with my mom as she set herself up with one.
Anyone here had experience and how did you go about capturing it?

I see Legal Zoom has a method / package and I am sure that many attorneys will jump all over me funding them, but @ $200+ per hour, I believe that I can get this done with 1) some knowledge and 2) avoid getting an attorney involved.

comments / suggestions welcomed.
 
My opinion is that when it comes to legal work, it's best to let an experienced professional deal with it. Simple/low value stuff, yeah you can probably do it and be fine. But dealing with an estate and associated liabilities, well things get complicated in a hurry.

I see it as one of those "you get what you pay for" situations. But I have no actual experience with a living trust.
 
MoPar Maniac said:
The person who represents themselves has a fool for a client.
Seriously, if its more than a simple will or the like an attorney is money well spent.
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I have experience with the attorney that represented my Dad’s estate and he screwed it up. My sister was executor and naive. My Dad’s girlfriend ended up getting the house at a discount and it took forever for escrow to close. All the while, the attorney charged away, with no accountability.
As one may expect, I am not fond of attorneys.
 
The hospital did it when I was in the hospital 3 weeks ago.
 
It's a simple thing for an attorney with estate planning experience and usually a set price for a trust that's not overly complicated.
 
3175375 said:
I have experience with the attorney that represented my Dad’s estate and he screwed it up. My sister was executor and naive. My Dad’s girlfriend ended up getting the house at a discount and it took forever for escrow to close. All the while, the attorney charged away, with no accountability.
As one may expect, I am not fond of attorneys.
Click to expand...
That attorney was a shyster. You should have called him on his dealings if your sister didn't.
My ex had a shyster attorney. I was a guy who had a fool for a client.
I caught him trying to screw me and told him I would go to the judge. The decree was amended, then in court the judge screwed the lawyer.
 
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3175375 said:
I have experience with the attorney that represented my Dad’s estate and he screwed it up. My sister was executor and naive. My Dad’s girlfriend ended up getting the house at a discount and it took forever for escrow to close. All the while, the attorney charged away, with no accountability.
As one may expect, I am not fond of attorneys.
Click to expand...
That's my experience!! Legal board gave him a slap on the wrist, he's still ripping people off!
 
MoPar Maniac said:
That attorney was a shyster. You should have called him on his dealings if your sister didn't.
My ex had a Shuster attorney. I was a guy who had a fool for a client.
I caught him trying to screw me and told him I would go to the judge. The decree was amended, then in court the judge screwed the lawyer.
Click to expand...
I don’t believe that he’s a sheister, just lazy. I have since communicated with him and he’s set to retire. I think he just didn’t want to pour his soul into another effort. It turns out that my Dad’s girlfriend is a gold digger. That episode is over. I also think that my sister got emotionally involved and that isn’t good when dealing with law.
 
If done correctly, the trust can happen pretty painlessly. Just paperwork and a fee minuted in court to get the Letters Testamentary done for the Executor. "Independent Executor" is best. Plus having the IE's signature on one of the "estate" bank accounts before the trust is needed, helps too.

There can be some pitfalls in the Legal Zoom internet items, from some of the horror stories I've heard. Usually when divorces, multiple ex-wifes, AND groups of children are involved. Reason? Unless the documents are updated with each marriage, the original spouse could end up with things the current spouse probably should. Check the laws in your state WITH a known-good attorney and then proceed. Even if that's the most expensive way to do it. Sometimes, the words and wording of the document CAN make all the difference, it appears, even if the words might sound "right" to you!! The trust/will my parents set up cost me about $2500.00 to get the estate done, but it was worth it. Everything happened quickly and painlessly. I trusted their judgment and it was good.

CBODY67
 
Use a reputable “Elder Law” attorney to set up the trust. We did it for my folks years ago. Made probate a piece of cake when they passed.
 
Be weary of how an attorney sets it up. There are revocable and irrevocable trusts. They may try to set it up so they still can run everything through probate in order to collect about 10% of your property value. Property in a trust does not have to be probated. A trust is also considered an entity in itself.

A will is filed and will be public record; a trust is not public record. You won't have executors, they will be designated as a trustee, or co-trustees and you will be the trustor. Do a good amount of research and learn as much as possible before you deal with an attorney. Know also that judges are and have been attorneys and integrity is NOT a given. I have experienced some seriously corrupt $hit first hand with a judge dragging out a partition action to fill his buddies pockets until the attorney fees from both sides collected nearly 20% of the 1.3 million that the property sold for. The supposed attorneys from opposite sides worked together to manufacture "problems" that were never an issue. A huge dog and pony show orchestrated by the POS judge. They see easy money in estates and will milk as much as possible before passing on what's left to the intended beneficiaries.
 
If your talking about setting up a trust than that's a serious matter and deserves a lot of planing.
I wouldn't even consider for a second not using an elder estate attorney.
Find a competent attorney.
 
Everything the folks owned was put in the trust except the property up north as Dad and I owned it together. Every checking, savings, retirement accounts and property was re-written as “held in trust for..........” All us kids were listed as trustees. Also a good time to establish Power of Attorney for medical and financial.
 
has2bmopar said:
Be weary of how an attorney sets it up. There are revocable and irrevocable trusts. They may try to set it up so they still can run everything through probate in order to collect about 10% of your property value. Property in a trust does not have to be probated. A trust is also considered an entity in itself
Click to expand...
No probate on trust the person whose trust it is is the sole owner once you pass.
Probate is public announcement of your estate to hear legal claims against it. In the absence of a Will
No Will- your beneficiaries have to hash it out, and anyone can file a claim against the estate and you will have to prove no rightful claim.
With a Will- your beneficiaries get what you say. Anyone that thinks they have a legal claim will have to prove it before claim is acknowledged.
Living trust- the trustee will own everything listed lock stock and barrel. When you die there will be a obituary and tuff S@/! For everyone else. No claims in probate, no claims contesting the will. No inheritance tax for the state (if your in a greedy seven), no lawyers tucking a napkin in their shirt ready to feast on your financial remains.

This is the way I understand it. If I'm wrong please tell me, I'm not a lawyer, but I can read (sort of).
My sister and myself, settled my dad's estate with no will and filed the inheritance tax with the state ourselves. The problem with attorneys and estates is they have fairly set structure of fees for the paperwork. Then come the asset division fees which of course go by how much is it worth and divided how many ways. This is the toilet your estate money gets flushed down by the attorney. You can file most everything yourself (it's your stuff, and your legal name).
Being a attorney is not a superpower it just means you have read the books and taken a test, and passed about what you read. I'm sure there are complicated cases were it is unclear and people get greedy. Then a lawyer might not be a bad thing.
 
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