I am happy to announce that we have completed our fourth video on Wills, Trusts & Estates. In this clip, Kevin A. Pollock, Esq., LLM, the head of the estate planning and estate tax department, is being interviewed by Pierson W. Backes, Esq., regarding whether you should put all of your assets into a trust.
Part of the difficulty in answering this question is that there are many types of trusts. Some clients want to create a trust to become eligible for Medicaid, some wish to engage in asset protection planning, and some wish to set up a trust to minimize probate.
This video primarily focuses on whether it is a good idea to create a revocable living trust to minimize probate. Some of the things people should think about include the complexity of your personal and financial affairs, the cost of probate in the jurisdiction that you live, your age, whether you are cutting out one of your immediate next of kin, and who you wish to manage your affairs upon your death or incapacity.
The role of a good estate and trust attorney should not just be to create a trust plan for you if it is unnecessary. Good estate planning lawyers will help you decide on whether a Will or Trust structure is best for you, and, if you set up a revocable living trust, discuss how and why you should fund your trust.
