Living-trust seminar attracts a small crowd
The presenters said they would take care of everything for a discounted fee of 1G.
D
EAR HARRY: Some time ago, my wife and I attended a free lunch and seminar on advantages of a living trust over a will.
Only about 20 people were in a room big enough for about 50. The presenters apparently were lawyers who would take care of everything for a discounted fee of $1,000. We have been discussing it ever since.
We were told by a friend whose daughter is a paralegal that it just isn't so. We are in our 80s, so it's time. What do you advise?
WHAT HARRY SAYS: It is long past time for you to have a will. I'm glad to see that audiences for living trusts are getting smaller. That means that fewer people are getting sucked into these trusts. They are not good substitutes for wills. Some assets may be overlooked and some cannot be held in trust.
Probating a will is not costly or time-consuming. However, the living trust has some modest legal-fee advantages. Unless heirs have disputes (which can happen with the beneficiaries of trusts, as well), costs of going to court are minuscule. The trust has an advantage in that the details are not public. Wills are in the public eye.
Some people compare the cost: drawing the instruments, transferring the assets, probating the will, taxes. Remember: Even if you have a living trust, a will is needed to cover missed assets.
Email Harry Gross at harrygrossDN@gmail.com, or
write to him at Daily News, 801 Market St., Philadelphia, PA 19107.
Harry urges all his readers to give blood. Contact the American Red Cross at 1-800-Red Cross.