By Tony Tyre
I always like to ensure that my clients understand the following benefits of having a trust verses going through probate court to transfer a deceased person’s assets. In my opinion, there are three main benefits:
- Cost
Trust: A typical trust package drafted by an attorney costs somewhere around $2,000. Although this is not a small amount of money, $2,000 is a lot less than probate fees.
Probate: Attorneys’ fees in probate court are set by statute, which more simply means that the fees are set by the California legislature and are not as negotiable as ordinary attorneys’ fees. For example, as we know in the San Gabriel Valley, property values have risen significantly in the past few years. As a result, if a person in Temple City passes away without a living trust and has one asset, a house worth $750,000, the attorneys’ fees by law would be $18,000. That is a big difference in attorney’s fees.
- Choice
Trust: If a person has a living trust, he or she can choose who get what assets and when. For instance, if you don’t want to give your estate to your “problem-ridden” son, then you can choose to leave your entire to your 16-year-old granddaughter when she turns thirty years old. You can specify that the trustee can use the trust money for your granddaughter’s health, support, maintenance, and education prior to reaching age thirty.
Probate: Without a trust, if your “problem-ridden” son is your heir at law, then he would receive your entire estate outright.
- Time
Trust: I have met with a client, drafted, and finalized a trust in less than a week. Once a person with a trust passes away, that person’s trust assets transfers to the beneficiaries (almost) immediately.
Probate: My average probate case has been taking nine to twelve months to complete before assets are transferred. This long time period obviously makes the grieving process even more difficult for the surviving loved ones.
Tony does not charge for initial consultations. For more information, please contact Tony at 5703 Temple City Boulevard, (626) 285-7033, or ttyre@tyrelawgroup.com.