Page 21 - Book10E

CHAPTER 2
How to Make Sure Living Trusts Are
Trustworthy
Chances are you’ve worked hard for your money, so it’s only natural that you want some control over what happens to your assets in the event of your death. At the very least, you probably want to minimize or avoid potential hassles and headaches for your loved ones.
Estate planning deals with what happens to your assets after you die. Even if you are a person of modest means, you have an estate — and several strategies to choose from to make sure that your assets are dis- tributed as you wish and in a timely way. The right strategies depend on your individual circumstances. That is, what is best for your neigh- bor might not make the most sense for you.
Unfortunately, misinformation and misunderstanding about estate taxes and the length or complexity of probate provide the perfect cover for scam artists who have created an industry out of older people’s fears that their estates could be eaten up by costs or that the distribution of their assets could be delayed for years. Some unscrupulous businesses are advertising seminars on living trusts or sending postcards inviting consumers to call for in-home appointments to learn whether a living trust is right for them. In these cases, it’s not uncommon for the sales- person to exaggerate the benefits or the appropriateness of the living trust and claim—falsely—that locally-licensed lawyers will prepare the documents.
Other businesses are advertising living trust “kits”, where consumers send money for these do-it-yourself products, but receive nothing in return. Still other businesses are using estate planning services to
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