I was at a seminar today where the speaker suggested that putting a parent's estate in trust might be the way to go. The gist was that basically, a will is merely a set of instructions to the probate court. So while the will eases the probate process by clarifying exactly the deceased's wishes, it does not preclude the problems of probate. In fact, by definition, it ensures that the estate will go through those courts. This is a bad thing because:
1. Up to 5% of the estate can be skimmed off the top in court costs.
2. It may take 18 months on average for the process to be completed.
Whereas if you establish a trust in the parent(s) name(s), then no court gets involved. It costs maybe a few hundred dollars to establish a trust.
I'll be interested to hear if anyone in the blogosphere attaches to this post with their own comments! Otherwise, me and momma gonna have a talk.
2 comments:
You'd mean a living trust, right? B/c one that gets enacted upon death would be subject to probate, I think...
Maybe so... I'll have to ask. Thanks for the tip!
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