Practice
Living trusts
A revocable trust lets your family carry on without probate, as long as the house and the accounts are actually in it. We do that part too.
You stay in charge of a revocable living trust while you're alive: you can change it, sell the house, move the money. When you die or can't manage, the successor trustee you named takes over without a court opening an estate.
Most trusts fail at funding: the deed never gets signed, the accounts stay in your name. Our trust plan includes the deed to your home and a written list of every account to retitle, with the letters to send.
In the trust plan
A revocable living trust
A pour-over will
The deed moving your home into the trust
Funding letters for each account
Power of attorney and medical directive
Step by step
How a trust gets funded
- 01
Step 1: We list what you own
The house, the accounts, the life insurance and the retirement plans, and who each one names.
- 02
Step 2: We draft the trust and the deed
With a one-page summary, and a review call before anything is signed.
- 03
Step 3: You sign; we record the deed
The recording fee is passed on at cost, without a markup.
- 04
Step 4: We send the funding letters
One for each bank or broker, and a checklist you tick off as each account moves.
Questions
Questions about this plan
Is a trust better than a will?
Not always. A trust costs more to set up and only helps if it's funded. It earns its keep when you own a home, own property in more than one state, have a child with special needs, or want an inheritance paid out over time.
Do I lose control of my house?
No. As trustee of your own revocable trust you can live in it, sell it or refinance it, just as before.
Does a trust save on taxes?
A revocable trust doesn't by itself reduce income or estate taxes. Larger estates may need other planning, which we'd quote separately.
Ask whether a trust fits your family
Tell us what you have and who you want to look after. You'll leave the call with a written flat-fee quote, and no obligation to use it.
The first call is free and doesn't make us your lawyers; an engagement letter does.