Trust Amend / Paralegal Consideration

[TheKingfish]

I have a ten (10) year old trust that is out of date. The original prep attorney is not one I want to reuse. Rather, I want a fresh look/overview. Early research says I have three options: Amendment, Restatement or Revocation. Directionally I need some legal advice on that, hoping my changes will be within the bounds of a Restatement.

A great deal of the revision will be written by me/wife following deliberation and research. In the end we want the final document to be overseen (blessed) by legal eyes. I’m thinking either a paralegal (if appropriate) or a new-practice lawyer. Please share your thoughts on all.
Thank you,
TheKingfish

 

[Zigner]

First: What US State?
Second: If this is important to you, then you likely want an experienced attorney to review it. Don't be penny-wise and pound foolish.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

What state are you in?

In most states a para-legal has no or little actual standing would be practicing law without a license if they did what you want. You want a lawyer experienced in estate planning to look over your changes. I have no idea what you mean by "a new-practice lawyer."

 

[Zigner]

What state are you in?

In most states a para-legal has no or little actual standing would be practicing law without a license if they did what you want. You want a lawyer experienced in estate planning to look over your changes. I have no idea what you mean by "a new-practice lawyer."

He think it's cheaper to go with a young and inexperienced lawyer. Kind of like finding the cheapest doctor for your heart surgery, if you ask me.

 

[TrustUser]

the restatement option seems fairly easy and direct.

since you already have a trust prepared, i am guessing that you would be capable of putting in the changes that you desire

but from what i can tell, you do need to retype the entire trust document, as you now want it to appear

but you dont have to do any re-titling of assets

which you would have to do, if you simply created a new trust

 

[TheKingfish]

Thank you all for your valued feedback. I live in the state of Michigan and generally tend to shy from being penny-wise and pound foolish.

Retyping the document would normally be an issue given that the bulk of it will be retained. However, back at inception (2008) I asked for and received the trust as a MS Word document. I’m not sure if that was normal (attorney) practice but I was anticipating active involvement in future amendments.

As such I’m thinking that we will do the deliberation & research thing, which will allow for the creation of a new document directly from the old. We would then visit the legal mind, presenting both the old and a change-highlighted copy of the new. S/he would then provide some guidance. All in all, the hope would be having a working document about 80% along the way. Thoughts?
Thank you,
TheKingfish

 

[Taxing Matters]

My thought is that you may be undertaking a lot of work that might not ultimately get you much benefit. I rarely use documents that clients give me that they drafted or that came from some other attorney. It is actually more work (and more cost to the client) to try to edit/mark up/comment on documents that clients bring in to get them into to good shape rather than simply creating my own documents for the client. Moreover, it may turn out that given your goals some estate plan quite different from the trust you have is a better fit for you at this stage. You might find it better to start by figuring out your goals and meet with an estate planning attorney to hear your options first before you spend lots of time and effort tweaking that old trust document.

 

[TheKingfish]

Your input is insightful. In light of, I think I will shrink my plan and present something to the attorney that looks like an outline. As you say, that then leaves more room to shape and grow into a future document; something that ultimately becomes more functional/flexible.

A key element for this trust (and maybe worthy of a separate-topic post) is IRA treatment. Our assets are heavy with them (47% Traditional & 24% Roth) and our legacy is largely public education; few heirs. Our age is 70 (average), so the remaining 29% taxable portion will grow as a result of future RMDs. From what I have researched, the tax code does not treat our “few heirs” aspect very kindly. As before, your thoughts are most appreciated.
Thank you,
TheKingfish