FUNDAMENTALS to Get Started on a Living Trust: Estate Tips!

How to make a Living Trust in California; top-rated Estate Planning Attorney explains Living Trusts, avoiding probate, taxes 👉 Book a Call at cunninghamlegal.com/book-your... to discuss your living trust with California Estate Planning Attorney
Estate planning involves looking at four different time periods: Now, Incapacity, Death, and Post-Death. It’s important that you plan for all four, not just the last one! A savvy estate planning attorney can help you get started putting together a Living Trust that’s customized to your needs-not some “cookie cutter” Living Trust put together for every client.
In this legal webinar about Living Trusts in California, we discuss why it’s so important to have a Living Trust that’s right for you. We count down the Top Ten Estate Planning Mistakes including:
10. Letting your family go to probate - A Will alone usually requires a probate judge to say that the Will is valid, but a revocable Living Trust operates outside the probate court structure.
9. The belief that all trusts are the same - Unlike many other firms, CunninghamLegal has a 12-step quality control process to make sure all Living Trusts are up to date, valid, and fill the needs of each, specific client.
8. Failing to address what will happen when you’re disabled - A living will says who makes the decisions if you pass away, but who makes the choices if you become incapacitated? How will you pay for long-term care?
We’ll also talk about forms you’ll need in the event of incapacity, such as:
· Pour Over Will
· Durable Power of Attorney
· Advanced Healthcare Directive
· HIPAA
· POLST Form
· Living Will
7. Not protecting your beneficiaries from themselves - Not every beneficiary is responsible or mature. Learn ways to protect your beneficiaries from blowing an inheritance!
6. Not protecting your beneficiaries from third parties - Don’t let predators-like a child’s future ex-spouse-get their hands on what you wanted your beneficiary to have!
5. Thinking your Living Trust covers your IRA and your retirement plans - Trusts usually don’t cover these sufficiently but there are ways you can make sure yours does.
4. Thinking your Living Trust is enough - Here’s a hint: it probably isn’t!
3. Believing who you named to act as Trustee will know what to do in the even of your death - Most Trustees have no clue what steps they need to take in the administration of a Living Trust!
2. Not keeping up with changes - If your Living Trust was written more than three years ago, you probably need to have it re-evaluated!
1. Procrastination - You really never know when you’ll need to have your Living Trust ready. Procrastination is a good way to make sure it won’t be!
Finally, we discuss other Living Trust issues like:
· The role of a Trust Protector
· The SECURE Act
· IRA Legacy Trusts
· IRS Estate Tax or Death Tax
· Asset and Income Protection
Join us for a look at Living Trusts, what you need to know about How to Make a Living Trust in California, and how to avoid common Living Trust mistakes!
To watch this video on our website, click here: www.cunninghamlegal.com/legal...
For more information on the fundamentals of a Living Trust, click here:
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[@Dani-ef3cf]

Excellent presentation. Detailed content. Relevant. Thank you so much.

[@CunninghamLegal]

I'm glad you liked it! Thank you for leaving a comment.

[@S2023.]

Thank you

[@CunninghamLegal]

You're welcome

[@jeffdeluca1153]

I'm not in your area, but curious if I should be expected to be charged for a consultation? Some attorneys want to charge $280/hr for that consult, BEFORE they start working on the trust. Thoughts?

[@CunninghamLegal]

Nearly every attorney that I know who handles estate planning now charges for a consult. It’s just the way things are now. That’s why it’s important to choose the right lawyer. We cover this in my book Savvy Estate Planning: www.amazon.com/Savvy-Estate-Planning-Before-Lawyer/dp/154452790X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1645818519&sr=1-4

[@catuirahomehansonii6009]

Question is…why shouldn’t mom’s home be sold to pay for her stay at a nursing home? Doesn’t make sense. Should government pay your expenses when you can?

[@CunninghamLegal]

You can definitely sell the home to pay for care, but some people are interested in the ways to protect the family’s property/inheritance from government claims once mom passes. Here is some more information on Medi-Cal planning: www.cunninghamlegal.com/california-legal-services/elder-law/

[@maryr7593]

One idea for future webinars is how these subjects could be different by state. You kept referring to CA as your firm is in that state but how does someone extrapolate the info and apply it (for educatiional purposes) to a different state? Ie) Wisconsin Are there federal guidelines that are applicable in all states? Is the state refeence only applicable to how it is interpreted after someone passes or does state reference what needs to be included/or excluded when doc is created? Also how are wills and trusts treated in other countries? 2023: huge mass migration of Americans interested in moving to Portugal as well as so called lower cost of living countries.....if person dies while abroad, they name their executor who lives in US....is the will/trust basically handled in the US for property in othe country, or is it handled in other country with executor from US? Any general info would be good....this is for joe american who doesnt have much in assets...just what they expected to live off while in other country. The golden visa ppl..can afford private lawyer and I doubt highly they would watch yt anyway.

[@CunninghamLegal]

Hey, thanks for the recommendation. You know how each state has its own laws about things like driving speeds or age you are legally allowed to marry? Trusts work the same way. Each state can set its own rules about how trusts are created and managed. Each county can also set specific rules for how trusts are created and managed. On top of that, the federal government has guidelines that apply everywhere in the U.S. So, if you're in California, the rules for setting up and managing trusts could be different than if you're in Wisconsin. If you tried to apply California's rules in Wisconsin, you might run into problems. If you tried to apply California's rules in Portugal, you'd probably run into bigger problems. Because all of this can be pretty complex, if someone needs help with setting up a trust or managing one, they should reach out to a legal expert in their own state/country. We can help you find someone in your state that can assist you with your estate planning needs if you connect with us at www.cunninghamlegal.com/california-law-offices/contact/

[@CunninghamLegal]

To follow up with the Portugal question, the administration or a will or trust for a person who dies abroad can be quite complex and is heavily dependent on the specifics of the situation, including the trustee and the deceased person's citizenship, the location and nature of the property, and the laws of the foreign country involved. If the person who died & trustee was a U.S. citizen and was domiciled in the U.S., then the will or trust would likely be administered under U.S. law, and the trustee would handle the estate according to U.S. procedures. However, if the deceased person owned property in a foreign country, or the trustee was living in a foreign country, the laws of that country may also come into play. Each country has its own laws regarding the transfer of property after death, and these laws may differ significantly from U.S. laws. This could necessitate a separate legal process in the foreign country. In some cases, a local representative may need to be appointed in the foreign country to handle the property there. It's also important to note that some countries do not recognize U.S. wills or trusts. If you have used a US drafted revocable trust as part of your estate plan, and now live abroad, you should revisit the use of your trust with an advisor, because there could be negative implications. Here is some additional information on Estate Planning for US Citizens living overseas: www.americansabroad.org/articles/estate-planning-for-us-citizens-living-overseas/

[@maryr7593]

@@CunninghamLegal Thank you so much for the information! People, like me, who don't know squat about these issues....we don't know the questions to ask, etc. I saw somewhere that lawyers are paid by the minute...which means you are paying a lot to get the basic info. At least this gives us some things to lookup and become familiar with vocabulary. Legal terminology can be its own foreign language to many. (Just as google chrome AI technology translates different languages into English, I don't think there is an AI technology yet which can translate legalese to plain English.) The number of Americans moving around the US the last twenty years begs the question of why US hasn't set up standard US guidelines that works in all states. (Though that would mean congress needs to agree on something...don't see that happening soon.) :-) Thanks for the reference about Americans Abroad....I hadn't seen that website before. One other suggestion for a webinar....how to preserve land (of your property) for conservation....if you have some acreage or land was part of a farm. So that after a person dies the heirs are not forced to sell to pay estate taxes and the deceased knows that the land will be made into a conservation of sorts...regardless of how the property was zoned by city. I have seen on many fb groups about taking care of your elderly parents....especially in the midwest where the parents own the acreage for the former farms....the people have briefly discussed wanting to set up some sort of stewardship of the land....so after parent passes, leaves the property to x adult children....the property would have a designated conservation purpose and none of the adult children can contest it...or each other as happens so often with property. If such a video exists, please point. The process probably depends on the state, county...as you said. But is there a federal standard of how it works in principle?

[@CunninghamLegal]

@@maryr7593 We don't have a webinar on that, but the team has received your suggestion and we will take it into consideration. Thanks for reaching out!