Since I became a mortgage broker, I limited my legal practice greatly. I no longer write wills and trusts. However, many of you will have questions about these topics, and so I have retained this web page.
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Seventy percent of adults in the United States have no estate plan at all, no will or trust, no powers of attorney, no directives to physicians. When they die, the state will decide who will be guardian of their children and who will get their property in a process known as probate.
It is important that every person have at least a basic will package that includes husband and wife wills, durable powers of attorney, medical durable powers of attorney, directives to physicians, and a community property agreement where it is appropriate.
Wills are good, but the revocable living trust goes further and provides a more comprehensive plan that provides additional protection for you while you are alive: With a living trust, if you are no longer able to manage your personal affairs, your successor trustee will take over, avoiding the need for an expensive, court-appointed and supervised guardianship.
Do you have minor children or incompetent adult children? If both husband and wife die, a living trust is the best way to insure that your plan for them will be carried out. For couples with children from prior marriages, the living trust will provide for everyone's needs: It will provide for the surviving spouse during his/her lifetime with the remainder going to the respective children.
Do you have an unmarried partner? And do you plan to leave assets to him or her? Without a will, your wishes will not be carried out. With a will a probate proceeding will be initiated, disgruntled heirs will receive notice of probate, and this will be an invitation to contest to the will. With a living trust, your successor trustee (who could be your partner) will transfer assets according to your wishes, quickly, privately, and efficiently.
Probate is the process of taking legal title to property out of the name of a person who has died and placing title in the name of those named in the will or trust.
A will or a trust can in some cases completely avoid the need for probate. It is even possible to transfer real estate to a surviving spouse or child without going through probate.
Copyright © 2008 James Robert Deal.