Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
Living Trust
I have heard that I should get a living trust for my residence and my parents. I have no idea where to start. Any suggestions? I am located in Southern CaLiformia.
5 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Living Trust
Hire a competent experienced Estate Planning attorney.
Re: Living Trust
Our firm offers free consultations where we can discuss estate planning. You can also refer to my web site for more details about how to proceed. (www.schomerlaw.com).
Very truly yours,
Scott Schomer
Re: Living Trust
Talk with an estate planning attorney with a firm that does trusts regularly--the attorneys who dabble in trusts often provide incomplete documents and at probably the same price as the attorneys with more estate planning experience.
The consultation will most likely be free, and in that time you should have a good idea of what the trust (and related documents, like powers of attorney, health care authorizations, funding documents) could do for you and your parents, and how much it would cost--the fees are usually a flat rate.
For some background information on trusts and estate planning, I'd suggest looking at some of the articles at the wealthcounsel.com site and the nolo.com site. I realize the Nolo site will encourage you to do this on your own, but because estate planning is something you can't fix after you're gone, it's a lot safer to use an experienced attorney.
Re: Living Trust
You can try to do it yourself online or by purchasing software or forms at your local Staples of Office Depot store.
Or, you can hire an attorney to assist you.
My office handles estate planning for smaller & mid-sized estates. Please feel free to call for a consultation.
Re: Living Trust
Wow, looks like everyone jumped on your bandwagon with that question. I'll just add in my 2c worth.
Great that you recognize the necessity for a trust. Remember that you will also need a pour over will, a living will, an assignment of assets, as well as a couple of other documents. Whatever you do, don't fall prey to one of the mill-trust makers, these are the people who hammer form versions out all day and are probably not attorneys. You DO want to see an attorney.
On that note, as everne else has probably also offered...our office specializes in wills, trusts and estate planning. Please feel free to learn a little more about the entire process and what is best for you by visiting our informative website at No-Probate.com.
I can be reached through that site, through the email provided by LawGuru, or through our firm's other site at PasadenaEstatePlanning.com.
Whomever you choose, I want to again commend you on being one of the very few who are on top of their game and looking ahead to the future.
Scott