Choosing a Living Trust Lawyer

[bigdavetru]

I've been shopping around for a living trust ( single person ) in the Los Angeles area. I've found various prices ranging from $730 (AARP discount) to almost $2000.

Now, since money is tight, I naturally made an appointment with the $730 guy. He says he includes everything that the other guys do ( power of attorney and whatever else ) - the complete package.

Any tips on what to look out for or what questions to ask him?
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

 

[tecate]

Look on the State Bar website (The State Bar of California) public resources section, under Making a Simple Will for two sections, "Do I Need a Living Trust" and "Do I Need Estate Planning."

Find out the extent to which the quote covers "funding" and custom provisions.

 

[TrustUser]

i think i would ask him if he uses a computer program to generate the trust. if so, which one ?

$730 is not a bad price, if he is also including other documents. typical ones would be a health care directive, financial power of attorney.

ask him if he prepares the grant deed for real estate. if no, how much extra ?

do you want your trust to continue after your death ? if so, you need more complete instructions than you would otherwise. most attorneys never even mention this very important situation to you.

 

[curb1]

Do you need a Living Trust? You might be paying for something that could be handled with a simple will. What is your situation?

 

[bigdavetru]

Need Living Trust?

The living trust is for my mom ( 86 and a widow ), and I'm trying to help her with it. She's in good health for her age and owns her home free and clear - it's worth anywhere from 200k to 400k ( who knows these days! ). She want's it to be divided up between her 5 children when she dies, but she has grandchildren living with her and she doesn't want the house sold until the youngest grandchild turn 18 ( this was the agreement she made with her husband before he died ). This was part of a will they created together but that will disappeared.

 

[curb1]

Do the five children get along well? Is there good communication (everyone on the same page)? Are they involved in this decision? How many grandchildren are living with her? Sounds interesting. Do the grandchildren have living parents?

This will come down to your call on picking the attorney. Good luck.

 

[bigdavetru]

All 5 children get along well, and my mother want's to do this. The grandchildren parents live with my mother and these parents know the house will be sold when the youngest grandchild turns 18.

 

[TrustUser]

just direct whomever does your trust about the instructions for your house.

 

[curb1]

If the cooperative spirit is maintained, you will have mostly solved the situation. One thing to seriously think about is future care for grandmother if she will require special care. This could be costly and necessitate selling the house before she dies. Are the five children economically capable to buy the house?

 

[bigdavetru]

Living Trust

>>Are the five children economically capable to buy the house?<<
I don't think they could all agree to buy the house, and I don't think they all are economically capable. What would be the reason for them to buy the house together??

btw , thanks for all the help and feedback

 

[curb1]

The reason would be to transfer the ownership to the five children to enable grandmother to pay for care. At the same time it would allow grandchildren to stay in the house the desired length of time. The alternative could be to sell the house immediately to pay for grandmother's care. This is not an uncommon situation I am presenting.

 

[bigdavetru]

Well it looks like I now have more things to consider, doesn't it. I'll take the ideas that came up in this thread and run them by the lawyer.

A living trust is probably better in this situation ( opposed to a will ) because she owns the property, right?

 

[TrustUser]

a will goes thru probate. a trust does not.

 

[Kiawah]

Have you thought about who is going to pay the on-going house expenses? Property taxes, maintenance on the house, etc? And then what happens to the house if those expenses are not paid.

 

[bigdavetru]

Copy of Living trust legal?

In the process of setting up this new living trust for my mother we found a copy of the original "will" that she and my deceased father set up back in 1994. Turns out it's not a will but a Living trust (revocable). The lawyer who set up this original living trust says he has copy and that a copy is really of little use and we need the original (remember my mother lost it). He says he needs to create a new one. Does that sound right?