Category: Estate Planning
The thing that a lot of professional services have in common, is that even after you purchase them, you may have no idea as to if they are good or not and whether they even work. That is true regarding most legal services and especially true regarding your Revocable Living Trust.
Your Revocable Living Trust will go into full effect when you pass away or become incapacitated. Which means obviously that by the time it goes into effect you will either not have the capacity to realize it or you will have passed on.
This is one of the main reasons that people push off creating their estate plan till they are much older, sometimes until it is too late. The other reason is simply because they do not want to have the tough and sad conversations with themselves, their spouse or with their family.
When I meet people that do not have an estate plan because they do not think one is necessary or they say “oh yeah I have been meaning to get that done, it is on my to-do-list. I always wish they could be a fly on the wall of my office or hear the phone conversations I have with clients.
When people lose their loved ones, they feel like their world collapsed around them. Then they bravely try to dust themselves off and do what needs to be done, including talking to the dreaded lawyer about the deceased loved one’s estate.
The conversation with the lawyer will go one of two ways:
If the deceased left a full estate plan, including a Revocable Living Trust, the lawyer will explain what trust administration is and the different stages.
However, if the deceased did not leave an estate plan, the attorney will have to explain how probate court works.
Now I am not saying that trust administration is always a walk in the park. Trust administration also has various legal requirements and legal procedures that need to be followed. However, the differences between the relative ease, transient, and private nature of trust administration compared to the long, drawn out, public, costly probate are extreme.
If you are in a situation that requires you to probate someones estate, you may want to read our article: "How to Streamline California's Nutorious Probate Process".
When I am discussing a trust administration with a client, I usually explain that we are talking about a process that may take a few months (depending on the different assets and beneficiaries - I have done trust administrations in a month). The process does not as a rule require any outside involvement and definitely no actual government intervention. Contrast that with probate where I will explain to the client that we are looking at a process that will take, easily 18-24 months, and that is if the probate is not contested.
As previously mentioned, many times when I meet the wife/husband/child of a person who passed away recently, they are usually still in a state of shock and grief. They are doing their best to go about their day-to-day but it is still incredibly challenging for them.
When they meet the trust and estate attorney that tries to explain to them terms such as “administrator”, “probate court”, and “heirs” not to mention the price of probate and that we are most likely looking down a barrel of a two year process it can be a lot for them to handle. Sometimes, it can be too much and we schedule a follow up appointment when the client feels a little more ready (which obviously delays the date that probate will be completed).
When the client leaves a full estate plan, the conversation is a lot easier for the client to process. I explain that there are some legal issues that obviously must be followed but that most of the heavy lifting can be done within a relatively short period of time.
By leaving a full estate plan for your loved ones you will be assisting them in their time of sorrow and mourning over your loss. You will also be providing them with your last wishes which many times will be a source of comfort for them in their time of grief as they can feel that they are honoring your last requests.
If you are ready to create your estate plan and wish for us to assist you, please fill out your contact information, and we will get back to you shortly to start creating your estate plan.