ALawyer

ALawyer
Senior Member

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Several States
Posts: 2889
If you have a living trust you had prepared by a lawyer, you really should ask the lawyer. Generally cars are a hassle to hold in a trust as insurance companies get confused. I used to tell clients not to even try it.

As for the 403b and similar plans, you could name the trust as beneficiary, but sometimes usimg a benefoiciary designation is just as good or better, although you may want to balance out what you leave one way or the other (for example if 2/3rds of your assets are in a 403b, the trust beneficiary gets the bulk of the estate.

IF you did a living trust on your own, without a lawyer, you may be in more trouble than you think. Get it professionally reviewed!


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09-21-2001 11:12 PM



DolphinVJ
Junior Member

Registered: Apr 2001
Location:
Posts: 19
ALawyer
Thank you for your response. Can you please elaborate what you meant in your answer that 403(b) assets should be balanced out if I choose my Living Trust as the beneficiary on my 403(b) beneficiary designation form.

Is it okay to designate my Living Trust as the beneficiary on my non-retirement investments (stocks, mutual fund, etc) as well?

How do you define "securities" as used in the Living Trust? Does this mean to include stocks, bonds, mutual fund, etc?

I live in California. Thanks again!

I repeat my earlier answer. DID YOU HAVE A LAWYER HANDLE IT? If so ask him or her. If not, anything I say can only serve to give you a false sense of security -- these trusts are always messed up ( sometimes even by lawyers) by lay people trying to Do It Themeselves. And only the beneficiaries realize it, when it is too late.