A living trusts California can be an essential part of any estate plan, particularly if you own real estate in the state or have substantial assets to pass on to your heirs upon your death. A living trust keeps your assets separate from your legal will so that they can be handled more easily by your loved ones after you pass away. This also helps avoid probate costs and fees, which are paid to the state instead of private parties.
What is a living trusts California?
A living trusts California (also called an inter vivos trust) is a legal entity that comes into existence during your lifetime. It allows you to avoid probate, which means your heirs can obtain title to the property immediately after your death without having to go through court proceedings. If you want complete control over who gets what after you die, or if you have substantial assets, a living trust is probably right for you. All states offer living trusts as of 2018; however, check with an attorney in your state before choosing one. Additionally, remember that tax consequences may affect whether it’s best for you to keep your property in a revocable or irrevocable trust.
How do I make sure my assets are protected?
If you’re reading this, it’s likely that at some point in your life you or someone you love will need long-term care. But even if you don’t end up needing nursing home care, there is another scenario where a Living Trust can be incredibly valuable: If one of your children or family members needs long-term care, you might have to decide whether to provide them with financial support. No parent wants to see their child living in poverty because of illness or injury—and sometimes providing monetary support ends up being beneficial for both parties.
However, before helping your child out financially by paying their medical bills or buying them food and shelter, you might want to think about establishing a Living Trust first.
What does my living trust cover?
No, you don’t need a lawyer to create a living trust. Living trusts are not technically legal documents, so they do not require any official legal seal or signature. However, there are often assets you will want to transfer into your living trust that are held by someone else (like stocks or life insurance). If you are transferring any assets into your living trust that belong to someone else (like an account in another person’s name), then it is likely that those third parties will require official paperwork from you proving that you have ownership of those assets before they will turn them over to your control. This can be resolved with a simple letter from your attorney verifying that yes, these particular assets belong to you and no one else.
Do you need a lawyer to create a living trust?
Creating a living trust is actually something you can do on your own. If you’re willing to do some research and work out all of those pesky legal words yourself, then go ahead and knock yourself out! The internet is full of guides for self-help living trusts, as well as other free tools that might help you get started.
Note: If at any point in your research you come across a website that offers to create your trust for a fee, think twice before handing over any money—because what they’re doing is probably illegal. Living trusts california should be created by an attorney and never should cost more than hundreds of dollars (at most) for first-time clients. Avoid living trust scams at all costs. There are plenty of legitimate lawyers who will offer low-cost services to first-time clients, but there are also scammers lurking around every corner just waiting to take advantage of folks trying to set up their own trusts.
Make sure you do your due diligence if it seems like things are getting off track—if anything starts feeling fishy, it’s best not to pursue it further. Your best bet is always going with someone who has experience setting up living trusts or who works with an office where other people have used their services successfully—check Yelp or Google reviews if possible! Just make sure everything looks professional and above board before you pay them any money whatsoever.
