Living Trust Living Hell Why You Should Avoid Revocable Living Trust

Readers say it best: "Very informative." "Saved me a lot of money and headaches!" "Recommend it for everyone who has to plan estates for their elderly parents" Living Trusts for Everyone is the best resource for setting up a living trust. Explaining in specific terms what benefits a trust will have, Ronald Farrington Sharp gives the tools necessary to set up a loved one’s trust with no lawyers and no expense. Wills benefit lawyers. Trusts benefit the clients. Too often lawyers sell wills to clients only to sit back and wait to sell their probate services to their clients’ heirs. Ronald Farrington Sharp describes the best way to handle modern estate planning and details the many advantages trusts have over wills in not only eliminating probate but in also protecting your assets for your heirs. Sharp explains why legal services are not needed to do the clerical work in settling a trust after death. This updated edition includes new information on an array of subjects, including: Elimination of the federal estate tax for most estates due to increased exemption amounts Online assets The use of passwords, usernames, and websites Keeping trustees honest and the process of removing trustees for malfeasance Forms for simplifying the planning process Strategies to lower attorneys’ fees With no legal jargon, just step-by-step instructions and sample form letters, Living Trusts for Everyone takes the mystery out of the process of setting up a trust.

". . . is unquestionably the layman's most nearly complete source on living trusts. . . . Recommended reading for anyone who wants to maximize his net estate left to heirs, speed asset distribution after death, avoid will challenges, minimize estate costs, and maintain privacy." -- Robert Bruss, Esq., and Nationally Syndicated Real Estate Columnist Chicago Tribune ". . . presents in clear, concise, and readable language what every person needs to know. I heartily recommend it as required reading for every caring husband, wife, parent--all those with an estate to pass along to heirs." -- Byron Countryman, Esq. Countryman and McDaniel Attorneys at Law, Los Angeles Why The Living Trust Is So Important You may think your heirs have been well provided for, but did you know that: Your loved ones may have to wait more than two years before receiving a penny from your estate--even though you have left a legally valid will? Costs of probating your will may eat up more than 10 percent of your estate-money your heirs will never receive? The specific instructions of your bequest may be contested or changed completely--even though clearly spelled out in your will? Once a will is probated, it becomes a matter of public record--anyone can access the information just by going to the courthouse and asking for your tile? A will cannot help you in life? If you become incapacitated or your judgment comes into question, it becomes a matter for the courts to decide and is, again, a very public process. A Living Trust is a simple, inexpensive legal alternative that eliminates the costs and delays of probate and ensures that your loved ones will receive their inheritance promptly and exactly as you intended. It is also the only estate planning tool that allows you to plan for your own incapacity or for avoiding competency hearings. When The Living Trust was published in 1989, it quickly became the bible on how to avoid probate. This updated edition includes information on the new IRA Q-TIP Trust, the Spousal and Family Support Trust, and the Family Limited Partnership. In addition, there is new material on the Charitable Remainder Trust (to preserve a large estate), the Gift Trust (to reduce the impact of inflation), protection for the handicapped, and a checklist of more than 150 "must" provisions that separate a good Living Trust from a bad one. Also included is up-to-date information about trusts for unmarried couples, placing assets in your trust, what should never be placed in your trust, and much, much more. A nationally recognized authority on Living Trusts, Henry W. Abts III is chairman and founder of The Estate Plan, the nation's oldest and largest Living Trust production corporation, responsible for creating more than 25,000 Living Trusts. A graduate of the University of Southern California, Abts holds a master's degree from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

An expert in estate planning clears up common misconceptions about living trusts, in an easy-to-understand style. You will learn that all living trusts are not the same, and you will discover how to select the right kind of living trust for you and your family. You will understand the current estate tax laws, and how to use special tax planning trusts and a life insurance trust to save your family thousands of dollars in death taxes. The book alerts you to the severe and often surprising income tax burdens which your family may face when your IRA or Qualified Retirement Account is liquidated, and shows you how to minimize those problems. You’ll also learn about costly estate planning mistakes people commonly make, and how to avoid them!

Written in clear, conversational English, this book can help anyone understand how a living trust avoids the complications, expenses, and delays of probate at times of incapacity and death.

"Robert A. Esperti and Renno L. Peterson taught Americans how to properly plan for themselves, their spouses, their children, their grandchildren, and charities in their landmark book, Loving Trust. In this new book, The Living Trust Revolution, they offer a point-by-point comparison of wills and living trusts that debunks the commonly held beliefs that wills better serve average Americans and that they can reasonably accommodate their estate planning needs. There are shocking deficiencies in the American legal system's approach to estate planning; The Living Trust Revolution exposes them and tells readers what they can do now to avoid problems - and probate - later on." "The Living Trust Revolution is written in clear, straightforward language and specifically addresses the anxieties most of us have about protecting ourselves, our assets, and our loved ones from unreasonable fees, red tape, and putting ourselves under the control of nonfamily members." "Authoritative and deeply reassuring, The Living Trust Revolution empowers readers to care for their loved ones now - and keep on caring for them in the future - with new confidence."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved