Ten Points to Consider
1.
Estimate the market value of your home. (Ignore any loans or debt on
the home or on any other asset, as you're estimating what the selling
price of the home would be rather than how much equity you have.) If
the market value (selling price) is more than $20,000 (twenty thousand
dollars), a Living Trust will make economic sense, as the cost of
probate on a home can exceed 5% of the home's market value.
2. If you do not own a home, but have other assets whose combined
value exceeds $100,000, a Living Trust may make economic sense in this
situation also, as the cost of the probate will consume 4% to 5% of
the total estate.
3. If you were to become mentally incompetent or incapacitated, a
Living Trust would avoid the expense and embarrassment of a
Conservatorship proceeding.
4. As a general rule, if an estate requires a probate, the process is
both time-consuming and expensive, and can consume 4% to 5% of the
total market value of the estate. A Living Trust avoids both the time
problem and the expense problem.
5. Placing an asset in Joint Tenancy with someone other than your
spouse exposes the asset to the other Joint Tenant's legal
liabilities. Placing the asset in a Living Trust maintains control and
eliminates this exposure.
6. For married couples, a Living Trust is the ONLY way to use the
estate tax exemption for both the husband and the wife. Without a
Living Trust, you lose one of the exemptions. In other words, with a
properly drafted trust you can double the estate tax-free amount that
you can leave your heirs.
7. If the trust is drafted properly, it can eliminate unnecessary
capital gains taxes for your loved ones.
8. If Medi-Cal qualification is desired and necessary, properly
drafted estate plan documents will facilitate the acceptance
procedure.
9. A properly drafted Living Trust does not need updating every time
you buy or sell assets.
10. The Law Offices of John M. Preston has been doing Living Trusts
exclusively for over twenty years, developing considerable expertise
in this area of estate planning. You can be assured that its Estate
Plan documents are properly drafted.
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