FULLERTON TRUST LAWYER

FULLERTON TRUST ATTORNEY

When it comes to estate planning and end-of-life arrangements, you have many tools at your disposal. What you choose to use depends upon your beneficiaries, your assets, and how much control you’d like to have over your medical and financial life as you age. Everyone is different and has different goals regarding retirement and estate planning.

Trusts are an excellent resource to use for estate planning. They have many benefits and can help maximize the assets that remain in your family. There are several types of trusts, meaning that you can tailor yours to meet your family’s particular needs.

It’s important to create your trust with the help of an experienced attorney. Without proper legal assistance, it’s easy to create documents that do not hold up in court or that leave your family vulnerable after your passing.

THE LAW OFFICE OF CHRISTOPHER WALKER: YOUR FULLERTON, CA, TRUST ATTORNEYS

When it comes to creating reliable trusts and estate plans, no firm has more experience than our team at the Law Office of Christopher Walker. We have specialized in estate planning, trust law, and corporate law for almost 30 years, giving us a comprehensive understanding of trusts and their effects.

Whether you own a home, a business, or simply have some money to leave behind, we know how to structure your estate to maximize your impact. We have helped hundreds of individuals and families successfully structure their estates and can do the same for you.

We focus on good quality legal advice to ensure that our clients have access to the best outcomes. We work diligently to support you and your family for generations to come.

What Is a Trust?

Trusts are an arrangement in which an individual, called the trustor, gives the right to certain assets and properties to another person, the trustee. The trustee holds the property or assets until a specific time, after which they distribute them to a third-party beneficiary. For example, let’s say you have a house that you plan to give to your granddaughter when you die. You may appoint your son as a trustee. He will hold the deed to the home until your death, at which time he will transfer it to your granddaughter.

The purpose of this is to reduce paperwork, conserve time, and avoid certain fees and taxes. If you were to hold on to your assets until you die, there would be myriad taxes and fees to be paid when your granddaughter inherited the house. If a living person (your son) has control over the home during the entire transition, some of the taxes aren’t applicable.

LIVING TRUSTS

“Living trust” is a term used to describe a trust created during a person’s lifetime. The property or assets move to the beneficiaries when the person passes away. In this way, it’s similar to a will. However, the assets may avoid certain taxes and fees.

The essential aspects of a living trust are whether it is irrevocable or revocable.

REVOCABLE TRUST

The revocable trust is the most common type of trust because it gives the owner some flexibility. As the name suggests, the owner can revoke or change certain parts of the trust after they make it. The owner can even completely terminate the trust if circumstances change.

If you acquire new property or assets between when you make your trust and when you die, you can add them to the trust with this category. Revocable trusts are powerful yet flexible tools that many people opt to use.

IRREVOCABLE TRUST

An irrevocable trust is precisely the opposite. Once it’s created, no changes can be made. This form of trust requires that the trustor move assets completely into their trustee’s hands.

Many people opt for this form of trust if their health or mental well-being begins to deteriorate. The advantage is that they often avoid taxes altogether, whereas revocable trusts may still be subject to some taxes.

WHAT DOES AN ESTATE PLANNING TRUST ATTORNEY DO?

It’s important to have a trust attorney for many reasons. Trusts are complicated, and it can be challenging to understand and differentiate certain aspects. Traversing the process alone leads to mistakes and legal loopholes that leave your family vulnerable.

A trust attorney helps you avoid these pitfalls. We can advise you on what form of trust would best benefit your specific assets and properties. We will discuss your beneficiaries with you and help you consider them when you make your trust. Most of all, we will create a trust that best cares for you during your remaining lifetime. In some situations, a revocable trust best protects the trustor. In other cases, an irrevocable trust is best suited to protect the owner. We will discuss these options with you and help you determine your best course of action.

In some situations, you may name your attorney as your trustee. Though this isn’t always the best course of action, certain individuals don’t trust anyone else enough to name them as their trustee. Proceed with caution when naming a trustee of any kind, as they’ll be responsible for carrying out your wishes and ensuring everything goes according to plan after you pass.

TRUST OVER FAMILY OWNERSHIP

One of the main benefits of a trust is that you can ensure that your assets are secure. There are legal protections surrounding trusts that help to ensure that the trustor’s wishes are properly carried out. This is an improvement over asking family or friends to hold assets for you. No matter how close you are with your loved ones, certain events, jealousies, or changing circumstances can cause them to act out of line with your values. Putting your assets in a trust is a great way to protect them and ensure that they go where you want them to.

WHEN SHOULD I START A TRUST?

When most people think of trusts, they think of the highly elite and wealthy. Though trusts are often associated with this group of people, it’s essential to know that anyone can create a trust. In fact, many families can benefit from a trust, and it’s a fairly underutilized tool.

To see if a trust would be a good tool for you, it’s important to speak with an estate planning attorney. Even if a trust doesn’t suit your goals, there are many other documents and arrangements that will. We can help you create an estate plan tailored to your needs so that you and your family are protected.

IS CREATING A TRUST EXPENSIVE?

Many people avoid the topic of a trust because they believe it to be expensive. However, it doesn’t require a lot of money to create. In fact, it doesn’t require more money than making a will, which most everyone should do.

Creating a trust does require a relatively significant amount of paperwork. This is another reason that having an attorney is vital to the process. We can help you correctly fill out the paperwork and submit it through the proper channels. The time investment to make a will is fairly significant, but the monetary one is minimal.

HOW MUCH DOES A WILL AND TRUST LAWYER COST?

Every attorney is different, and every firm has different pay structures. An attorney’s fees depend upon their experience and expertise in a given area of law, so it’s difficult to say for certain how much a will and trust lawyer will cost. Additionally, some wills and trusts are straightforward while others require more time and effort. Lawyers generally charge by the hour.

It’s important to always discuss finances with potential attorneys before hiring them. Though this may be an uncomfortable conversation for you, it’s simply part of the job for an attorney. Most attorneys are happy to discuss pay structure and fees with their clients to ensure that everyone is on the same page. Lawyers, especially those who deal with wills and trusts, aim to help people. We are not trying to trick you out of your money.

Ultimately, it’s best to discuss finances first, so you don’t get halfway through the process and realize that you don’t have the funds to finish. This can be catastrophic and may mean that you have to start over. Even worse, it could mean that your family and assets are vulnerable to probate and debt collectors.

CONTACT THE LAW FIRM OF CHRISTOPHER WALKER

When it comes to wills, trusts, probate, and all other matters surrounding estate planning law, the team at the Law Firm of Christopher Walker is here to help. With our vast experience in the field, we give you the best resources to make a genuinely effective trust for your family. We understand the unique challenges facing families today and work closely with our clients to make sure that their assets are secure. We’ve faced cases involving business ownership, multiple properties, family disputes, and asset sums large and small. There is no case that we haven’t seen before, and we feel confident that we can help you no matter what your situation may be.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, please contact us online today.

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