Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Your Questions About Living Trusts | Houston Trust Attorney

"Isn't a Living Trust just for the very wealthy?"

Nope. A Living Trust helps anyone protect his or her family from unnecessary probate fees, attorney's fees, court costs and federal estate taxes. In fact, if your estate (homes, cars, bank accounts, intangibles, etc) is greater than $100,000, you will find a Living Trust offers substantial benefits for you and your family.

That happens to include the vast majority of homeowners, and, likely, YOU!

"Will the 'Living Trust' regulations be some kind of loophole which the government will eventually close down?"

Thankfully, the Living Trust has been authorized by the law for centuries. The government really has no interest in making you or your family go through a probate ... which will only serve to further clog up their already-overloaded legal system. A Living Trust avoids probate so that your estate is settled exactly according to your wishes. It does so NOW, and will do so for decades, and centuries hence.

By: Kim Hegwood, Houston Trust Attorney

"Can just any attorney create a Living Trust?"

This is somewhat self-serving, but the simple fact is, well, no.

You should choose an attorney whose practice is focused on estate planning. Good estate planning attorneys receive continuing legal education on the latest changes in any law affecting estate planning, allowing them to provide you with the highest standard of estate planning service anywhere.

The simple fact, further, is that even many estate-planning attorneys don't take the time to keep abreast of what changes DO come about in the different codes which affect Living Trusts...and, unfortunately, get their clients into problems which would not have happened if they stayed on top of things.

And yes...of course, that is a big focus for me and my firm. We are on top of these issues so you don't have to be!

"Can I set up a Living Trust once and leave it alone?"

My answer: NO!  This is a common misconception. 

A living trust is a living document, which means it needs to be updated throughout your lifetime due to changes in the law, changes in your assets and changes in your life. If it has been more than three years since you have reviewed your trust with a Houston Trust Attorney (and the title of your assets), you had better give us a call to make sure everything is still in place the right way; otherwise, a lot of that time and money you invested in your estate plan could unfortunately be wasted, or a lot less effective than intended.