Your Estate Deserves Better Than
A Mass Marketed Trust
Cheaper may not be better. Mass marketed, "one-size-fits-all" trusts may, or may not, suit your estate planning needs. A poorly drafted, "fill-in-the-blanks" trust could be a waste of money, and cause your family serious complications upon your death.
"Free" living trust seminars, presented by non-lawyers, who are "here today, and gone tomorrow", cannot provide your family the safety, and flexibility that only a local attorney can offer.
The benefits of using a revocable trust to transfer your assets upon your death, and avoid the costs and delay of probate, is well-known. Signing a "cookie-cutter" trust may be seem like the answer to your estate planning questions. But, whom do you call when you have questions about your trust, or need to make changes to your documents when your family conditions change?
During your lifetime most revocable trusts may be amended to keep up with changes in your family. However, after your death, most trusts become irrevocable and, if there are mistakes, your family must go to court to change an irrevocable trust. This can include portions of a married couple's trust that become irrevocable after the death of the first spouse.
While the mistakes may be minor, the procedure to fix them can be time consuming and expensive. It may require notifying all the beneficiaries, and potential beneficiaries of the mistake, and obtaining their permission to fix the problem. The process can be daunting.
Have your estate plan done correctly, and tailored to your family, the first time. Avoid limiting yourself, or your family, to the language of a preprinted trust instrument. Upon your death, a local attorney will be there to help your family through their time of grief in ways that mass marketers are just not able to do.
