Living trusts. Who has set them up already?

[emperor_black]

All I know so far about trusts and wills is that a trust is not subject to probate and that wills are. Probate is when upon your death, all your accounts and assets are frozen until the government decides how much money your family should get. It can be as much as 6 months. Living trust is better than a will because it also kicks in if you become physically incapacitated and cant talk or sign anything. And if you're the couple that have done the gravest mistake by keeping all your money in a single joint account, better get ready to bend-over!

So, who on the board has thought about these things and come up with a living trust? Do I need to go to a lawyer or can I set one up on sites like legalzoom.com? Last I got a quote, it was almost $3000. Is it that freakin expensive? Does it need to be renewed every 5 years or something?

[Spivonious]

I'm not that old!

After reading a little bit about them, it seems to be a pretty good idea if you know who's getting the money. Your beneficiaries still have to pay estate taxes on it though.

As far as being physically incapacitated, just have it in writing that someone you trust gets power of attorney and save money the regular way. You'll earn the interest that way instead of the grantor of the trust.

[Mrs Tekky]

Actually even with a living trust you will still need a will. There are any number of potential complications of putting everything you own in a living trust. They do keep the holdings in the trust from going into probate - but that doesn't avoid taxes. But a will usually covers more than just your physical and monetary assets. And absolutely work with an attorney on setting up the trust documents - there are a number of issues that could come up if the trust is not done correctly or handled properly. And you need to determine the appropriate kind of trust - a living trust can actually become complicated if you do become incapacitated. You should also have documents drawn up to say what you want to happen if you do become incapacitate - how you want your health and wellness handled, how you want your assets handle, and who will make sure those decisions are carried out. We oversee this kind of stuff all the time for clients. It can get very interesting.

And the comment about not being that old - you don't have to be old to get killed or incapacitated in a car accident or something.

[AK47]

FYI with a living trust you can legally buy Silencers, Short barrel rifles/shotguns, Destructive Devices and real Machine guns without having a CLEO or Sheriff sign off on you application to buy one.


ETA Quicken will maker its real easy to setup a living trust.

[Venomboy]

I have a living trust. It includes a will and advanced health care directive (signifies who can take care of my business if I am incapacitated. It also names who my beneficiaries are and who the controller of the trust is.

The trust sets up an "entity" that owns your assets. While my wife and I live, we control that entity. When we die, my brother controls the entity. We have specified at what age our kids will get our cash and assets.

A trust is very important. Say you're married and have kids. You die, your wife remarries. She gets a divorce. Now 1/2 of what was your shit is now this clown's shit. Let's say your wife dies. This fool gets all of it and runs off to China and starts 357 Customs Part 2. Your kids don't get shit.

Now that I have a trust and it states my kids ultimately get everything. Say I die, my wife remarries and then she dies. The Clown still doesn't get anything that's named in the trust.

You are never too young to have will, trust, and life insurance. I bought life insurance and get a killer deal thru my employer on life insurance. I want to make sure my family is taken care of.

I paid $1500 for my trust almost 7 years ago. The attorney that did it specializes in them. He now charges a little more but explained everything very well and I never had any anxiety or misgivings thru the process. Every few years we go over it again to make sure all my accounts are accounted for.

[AK47]

You can set up a living revocable trust for about 56 dollars here is a guide how to do it.

Ignore the part about guns or the NFA and ATF forms. About half way down the page he explains how to do it using Quicken willmaker.

http://arizonagunlist.com/How_to_buy_NFA_class3_weapons_with_a_revocable_living_trust_without_a_CLEO_signoff.html

[emperor_black]

Wow, venomboy, AK47, great info guys!! Keep 'em coming! I want to get something in place by this year. my brother's been pestering me to get one done ever since he talked to this financial giant about the importance of these things.

[Venomboy]

2 of my friends said it's morbid to get life insurance or deal with a trust.

I told them it's retarded not to. What's morbid is fucking your family if you can afford a trust and insurance yet choose not to.

Everyone dies. You leave stuff behind when you die. There's people you want it to go to, and there's grubby hands you don't want it to go to.

Also, if you have kids, you name guardians. Some dumbasses have told me, well the guardian is the godparents, because that's like, uh tradition. No dumbass. The guardian is who you LEGALLY name as the guardian. Otherwise the MAN will do it for you.

I want to take responsibility for all my assets and for my family. Nothing gets left up to chance or the government.

[emperor_black]

godparents = guardians? :ROTF: Must have watched the Seinfeld episode.

[missionguitars1]

So, who on the board has thought about these things and come up with a living trust? Do I need to go to a lawyer or can I set one up on sites like legalzoom.com? Last I got a quote, it was almost $3000. Is it that freakin expensive? Does it need to be renewed every 5 years or something?

Got one here as I have a wife & 3 kids, house, etc - too much to lose!

$3K is a pretty retail price for an all-inclusive plan from a partner in a bigger firm. You should be able to get the same from a one-man specialist in estate planning or an associate-level lawyer for $2K if you counter - law firms are hungry for business right now. Legal Zoom was about $700 from what I remember, but there's always that fear of not dotting an "I" or crossing a "T" when you do it yourself...if you want to look into the nuts and bolts of trusts more, check out www.nolopress.com - lots of self-help legal books there....

No need to update that often, unless you are trading assets often - as long as you title new acquisitions in the name of the trust (houses, etc), there's a usually a catch-all phrase in the document that then includes the new property as if it were explicitly written out in the trust itself...

Hope that helps!

[MikeStrat]

2 of my friends said it's morbid to get life insurance or deal with a trust.

Sorry to say but your friends are stupid. It's actually one of the most responsible things a person can do. Like it or not it's going to happen to all of us. And the younger you do it, the cheaper it is. I can guarantee 3 things: Death, Taxes, and life insurance will NEVER get cheaper the older you get.

[Venomboy]

I bought my first big round of life insurance when I was 30. I wish I would have done it at 25. It was still cheap but would have been even cheaper.

And yes, my friends are stupid!

[Dogbone]

This subject really hits home for me... My Dad passed away 19 years ago, and on the 1st of January of this year my Mom passed away... She had a living will. She also had instructions for the EMT's as was stated above about what to do if something did happen to her. She choose to not be revived.
Dealing with everything has been a real eye opener, and I am glad that my Mom did have the Living will with the trust in place. The Lawyer that set all of this up back in 92 did a great job, and it has really helped immensely in taking care of everything. I am a firm believer in the Living will/trust and would really recommend it to anyone. I have plans to have this done asap.

[emperor_black]

Sorry to hear about your loss brother. Great decision on the trust!

[Jayster]

+ 1 on life insurance

I've had one policy since I started driving - having multiple policies made my insurance cheaper. Since then I've picked up a second policy outside of my work policy(non-smokers~ you guys get a 30%ish break on pricing).
No I don't sell insurance either, but the last thing you want to be thinking about in your last days is how your family will fair in the immediate future.

Emperor Black, your friends are jack asses, it is wise to prepare for the inevitable(if you love you're family).