Frequent Issues & Topics
Our Trust Package Includes What You Should Expect & More
Shouldn’t Wills Require Full Disclosure Too?
Consider this: The true costs and consequences of a Will do not hit home until long after you sign it and at a time you can no longer complain or change it. The very document (Will) that you sign years beforehand, obligating you to probate, makes no mention of the eventual burdening costs and processes. The lawyer you are paying to draw it up and represent your interests isn’t required to discuss it nor is it a practice for lawyers to do so. Technically, you can’t call any of this outright concealment because they will tell you it is all a matter of public record and known law. Yet, does that mean you, or “Aunt Rose”, or most any other layperson for that matter truly and fully grasps the real end costs, impact and obligation of probate when signing a Will or that you don’t want it discussed? Consider that you can’t complete a home loan without a separate document that highlights and details all of the short and long term costs and obligations. Yet lawyers, supposedly representing their clients’ best interests, are allowed to draft and complete Wills without ever mentioning, discussing or disclosing the end costs and headaches of probate. As long as that is allowed to continue it is up to you to educate yourself and take steps to prevent this backend incursion on your family and hard earned dollars.
Why The Search For Perfection Leaves Many In The Most Imperfect Place Of All!
Many tend to delay implementing a living trust for years — even after they have already decided they should have one. This occurs for a myriad of reasons – natural human procrastination; the mistaken belief that it is very involved; they can’t quite make up their minds on a few points; they are searching for the perfect attorney, the perfect trust, the perfect price, the perfect timing. On the surface, many of these reasons appear understandable and reasonable, but when you take a closer look, the major flaw in such logic is the absolutely terrible position you are allowing yourself to stay in during this time. In the flawed thinking which often accompanies this line of reasoning, many people believe this waiting period is so they can make a good decision. Problem is, where you may think you have not yet made a decision on this important matter, you actually have. That’s because without your own estate plan, your signature is on the one the state has written for you. On your most indecisive day you can probably arrive at a better estate plan for yourself (than the one the “state” has written for you).
Did you know that without a trust an 18 year old would gain uncontrolled use of an inheritance?
Avoid The Vacation or Surgery Scramble!
We’ve nicknamed it the “living trust vacation scramble.” For some reason, mere days before departure, most feel an urgent need to make sure their estate plan is in order before they leave. While we agree that it is wise to be covered, we also suggest it is far better to have taken care of this ahead of time than it is to be scrambling at the last minute when it is highly stressful, if not impossible to get it done. The same applies to establishing your living trust. It should be done when all is well. Some of our most heartbreaking times occur when we are asked to help someone who has been diagnosed with a life threatening condition, or is facing major surgery. Yes, the trust needs to be done, but it is nonetheless a very awkward and emotional time to deal with these matters! We urge everyone, when possible, to take care of your estate planning when you are healthy and can joke about your mortality rather than at a time it might be staring you in the face!
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