Is a Living Trust Right For You?

  

Learn more by listening to a 9 Minute, Toll-Free, Telephone Living Trust Presentation 

Call (866) 927-8552 x1
(also in Spanish x2)


Heritage Living Trust, Financial Consultants - No License Required, Scotts Valley, CA

What People Are Saying About Heritage Trust

"I have a close personal friend, who is now 90 years old. She had a trust from Heritage Living Trust created about 3 years ago and since that time has been diagnosed with dementia. A week ago, after checking herself out of the hospital, the public guardian filed for conservatorship, asking the probate court to appoint them, the public guardian, as her new caregiver/conservator. My friend has no family left, but due to her Trust which was created while she was of sound mind, declared her wishes as to who she wanted to serve as her conservator if the time ever came to when she would need to be conserved. Normally, a non-relative conservatorship would be fairly difficult to implement, but in this case, the named individual in her estate plan came to the court and told the court that they desire to serve as my friend's conservator and will accept that responsibility. This morning, the probate attorney and the public guardian agreed that the named individual in the estate plan created by Heritage has precedence, and that the trust was sufficient to place that individual as her conservator.

If it were not for her Heritage trust, she would be another case added to the already overloaded government workers conservatorship pile. Instead, an individual who she loves, and who loves her, is now fulfilling my friend's final wishes and providing for her the end of life care that she deserves after having worked hard for the past 90 years."       

R. Jones...California 

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"Thank you Heritage Staff and Associates for providing the type of customer service a consumer only dreams of. I am so impressed with the accurate and timely response to my many questions and how everything is explained in terms I can understand. Most impressive is the ability to make changes to our trust at any time without an extra charge. I am confident that Heritage Trust has given me the security my family needs for the future."
 Z. Gibbs...Colorado

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"In 2003 when I was looking for someone to do my Living Trust, I found HeritageLivingTrust.com . I met with the staff at their office and we started the process. The service was and is above and beyond my expectations. In 2007, after marrying again, my husband and I had them set up a new A-B Trust, which we have amended several times since then, at no extra cost. We have been completely satisfied and send them Kudos for all their patience, hard work and professionalism." 
Chris and George S., Pacific Grove, California

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    Stuff You Should Know
    About Your Estate Planning

    Sunday
    Jan272013

    New 2013 Estate Tax Changes

    Most estates don't owe federal estate or gift tax, because you can give away or leave substantial amounts of property tax-free.

    The federal estate and gift taxes are really one tax, called the unified gift and estate tax. Under current law, you can leave or give away up to $5.25 million, total, before you need to pay tax. Tax liability isn't assessed until death, unless you make $5.25 million in taxable gifts (very unusual) during your lifetime. 

    The personal estate tax exemption. The personal exemption allows a set dollar amount of property to pass tax free, no matter who inherits it. For deaths in 2011, the individual exemption was $5 million; for deaths in 2012, $5.12 million; and in 2013, $5.25 million. The amount will be indexed for inflation, so it will probably increase in future years. If your estate is worth less than the exemption amount--as are the estates of more than 99% of the population--it won't owe federal estate tax when you die. If you have made taxable gifts during your life, the amount of yourpersonal exemption will be reduced by the amount of those taxable gifts.

    The marital deduction. All property left to a surviving spouse passes free of estate tax. (I.R.C. § 2056(a).) The marital deduction is not allowed for property left to noncitizen spouses. But the personal estate tax exemption can be used for property left to noncitizen spouses.

    The charitable deduction. All property left to a tax-exempt charity is also free of estate tax. (I.R.C. § 2055(a).)

    Special rules for married couples. A surviving spouse gets a big tax break. If the deceased spouse didn't use up his or her individual tax exemption, the survivor can use what's left. That gives the couple a total $10.5 million (under current law) exemption, split between them in any way that provides the greatest tax benefit. For example, say a man dies and leaves $4 million to his widow; no estate tax is owed because property left to a spouse is tax-free. The widow then dies, leaving $7 million (her own $3 million plus the $4 million she inherited from her husband) to their children. Her estate won't owe any estate tax, even though the estate is over the exemption amount, because the estate can use some of the husband's unused exemption. 

    State estate taxes. Even if your estate isn't big enough to owe federal estate tax, the state may still take a bite. Many states collect either their own estate or inheritance taxes. (See Estate and Gift Tax FAQ.) If you live in one of those states, there's not much you can do to avoid paying those taxes, save moving to another state.

    Thursday
    Jan102013

    How To Deal with Difficult Family Situations

    We often find ourselves dealing with clients who have complicated and sensitive family situations. How those situations should be handled becomes the challenge and many people doing a Trust aren’t sure how to arrange their affairs in such situations. I’m talking about situations like...

     

    Clients in their second or third marriage perhaps with children from previous marriages. Each spouse wants to treat their own children from a previous marriage fairly. They may even have children from their current marriage so you have a, “yours, mine, and ours” situation. It can get complicated.  Maybe one of the children hasn’t particularly endeared themselves to their step-parent. Or, the children from different marriages are unfriendly toward each other. I have mediated many a discussion with these kinds of circumstances. 

     

    Or, spouses of a single marriage who have several children and want to be fair but feel that different children deserve more or less help than others when they are gone. Maybe one of the children needs more...such as a daughter with children doing the single parent thing and barely getting by. Parental love dictates more help in that direction than for the more independent or affluent children. Or, perhaps they have an irresponsible child who is just flaky or drinks too much or uses drugs. The parents can see the inheritance going right up that kids nose.

     

    Some people don’t think much of their children’s spouses and want to be sure they don’t get any of their children’s inheritance if their children divorce or die. Or, maybe their child has already divorced and they want to be sure the grandchildren get an inheritance without their childs divorced ex getting their hands on the money. 

     

    The scenarios are endless and I could go on and on but the point I want to make here is that a Living Trust is ideal for dealing with just such situations. You can design any scenario you want to accommodate any family situation. The A-B Living Trust allows married couples to divide their respective half of the estate and determine how they want to leave their share to whoever they want and how they want. 

     

    When the first spouse dies their half of the Trust becomes irrevocable and nobody can change the wishes of the deceased spouse...not even the surviving spouse. The deceased spouse is guaranteed to have their wishes carried out under the law. 

     

    You can leave your assets to your children or grandchildren in any way you wish. You can disinherit a child or leave their inheritance to them in small amounts spread over a number of years. You can allocate all of your assets to the education of your grandchildren and leave your children the remainder when your last grandchild graduates. You can even leave an inheritance conditioned upon an accomplishment...like going through rehab or graduating from college. What ever you can think of you can do with a Living Trust. And you can change your wishes any time without redoing the Trust...with Heritage we do it for free for the life of the trust.

     

    All it takes is some consultation and a whole lot of honesty on your part. I find that the biggest hurdle in these situations is guilt. People often feel guilty about what they want to do. Honesty with yourself is the best approach. If your heart is in the right place you don’t need to worry about what others think. Do what you truly feel you need to do. 

     

    If you would like to discuss similar circumstances with someone who has dealt with these situations I invite you to call me and let’s discuss it. You can call Heritage and receive consultation at no cost. The number is 888-437-8778. Remember, Heritage is in the Pacific Time Zone and closed on Fridays. 

    Tuesday
    Jan012013

    Three Disasters You Don't Want To Experience

    There are three major pitfalls no family wants to fall into. Most of the time these disasters are unseen and usually unknown to most heads of household. 

    The first is...

     

    Dying Intestate

    When you die without leaving instructions you leave your family helpless and in a position of losing a major portion of what you have worked so hard to accumulate for your families financial security. There is no forgiveness in the law. If you neglect...you pay the price. I have witnessed tragic situations where stocks went through the floor while they were tied up in Probate and there was nothing the family could do but watch. More than 70% of Americans don’t even have a scrap of paper to say what is going to happen when they die. All of them will die Intestate unless they prepare a Will or a Living Trust. Remember though, a Will is a guaranteed trip through Probate...a Living Trust completely eliminates that risk.

     

    Conservatorship

    If you become mentally incompetent either from an illness like dementia or Alhzheimers or a sever accident, and two physicians say you are unable to make competent decisions for yourself, you will be declared incompetent and lose the legal right to make your own decisions requiring a Conservator. The Conservator has the legal right to make decisions for you, manage your money and report accountings to the Conservatorship Court, decide who you will live with or what institution you will be confined to, and generally dictate your entire life. If you are incompetent you don’t even get to have a say in who takes care of you...the Court does all the deciding. People petition the court to become your Conservator and the Court makes the decision...whether you agree with it or not. Even your spouse must petition the Court. This is not a situation you want to find yourself in. You can make the decision however, BEFORE you become incompetent. It’s called a “Nomination of Conservator” and you can decide who you want to be your Conservator. This takes the Conservatorship Court out of the picture...or at least tells the Court who you want as Conservator and the Court rarely goes against your wishes. A Living Trust provides the document for you to make the Conservatorship Nomination taking the decision out of your families hands and eliminating the intrusion of the Court into your life. A Will does not make this provision alone. In fact many attorneys write themselves into your Will as Conservator. That way they get to control your finances and make decisions regarding your welfare that may not be what you would want. This is a BIG pitfall...consider it carefully.

     

    Medicaid

     

    If you are disabled to the point that you need to be in a Long Term Care facility you will be required to spend all your savings on your own Long Term Care, essentially becoming a pauper in order to take advantage of the Medicaid entitlement. Long Term Care Insurance is often suggested but consider that solution carefully because it can cost a husband and wife as much as $25,000 a year for both of you or a quarter of a million dollars over 10 years. And you may never use the insurance even though you paid for it. It’s a lot less expensive to prepare the proper documents and avoid the problem altogether. The Living Trust is part of that solution. Save your life’s savings to enjoy and let us show you how this problem can be completely eliminated. 

     

    You may think that you are not old enough to worry about these things but believe me the age at which they can happen is completely undetermined. Any of these things can happen when you are young, middle aged, or seniors. Just don’t take the chance. The dice you roll taking that chance can have life shattering consequences if you are wrong. 

     

    You can learn more about these solutions by calling Heritage at 888-437-8778. The call is free and so is the consultation. Remember that Heritage is on Pacific Time and the office is closed on Fridays. 

    888-437-8778

    www.heritagelivingtrust.com

     

    Wednesday
    Nov072012

    I Have A Sure Fire Cure For Cancer

    Yep, I have a sure fire cure for Cancer. No surgery, no chemo, no radiation needed...works every time. All you have to do is fill out some forms and cut me a check. Costs $1895.00 one time for any kind of Cancer and its completely legal. 100% Guaranteed!

     

    Human Nature is a funny thing. We've become so apathetic that we don’t believe anything. We're cynical about everything. If you were handing out $100 bills on the corner very few people would take them. If the above paragraph were true, how many takers do you think I would get before the FDA, the FBI, the SEC, the IRS, and every other government acronym would come down on me. Even those dying with Cancer would turn their backs even though their very life depended on the cure.

     

    Cancer is a horrific thing. My wife fought it for 12 years through three reoccurrances AND BEAT IT! It's been 15 years without any Cancer now and she is healthy and vital. But Cancer is a “whole family disease”, it effects everybody in the family in a profound way for years. But you are fighting for your life so you make the sacrifices and you fight like hell because the alternative is horrible and unacceptable!

     

    Still, there is a large segment of the population out there that smokes like a chimney...some of them knowing they have Cancer already. Some are terribly obese, some drink way too much. We are trying to commit suicide by smoking and eating ourselves to death. Cancer and Heart Disease kills more people in this country EVERY YEAR than the total that died in the entire Viet Nam War. That many die every year just from auto accidents for heavens sake. 

     

    Where I'm going with this is this...we do the same thing with our families when it comes to our financial lives. By sheer ignorance, apathy and procrastination we neglect everything we should do to guarantee a cure for financial Cancer and devastation of our families. I DO have that cure just like it says in the first paragraph and it is legal and it doesn’t cost more than $1,895.00 total forever!


    It is a Living Trust. It cures the Cancer of Probate, the Cancer of Capital Gains, the Cancer of excessive Estate Taxes, the Cancer of family confusion at your death regarding your intentions and it works every time...Guaranteed!


    All you have to do is DO IT! Don’t wait...DO IT NOW!  My brother in law died from Cancer at age 48. My father in law died instantly at age 44 from a heart attack while sitting in his living room waiting for his ride to work. Don’t wait! 

    DO IT NOW!

     

    If this sounds like a rant it probably is but it’s a rant packed with truth. It frustrates me to talk to families who just waited too long until there is nothing they can do about it. Too late really is TOO LATE!

     

    Call me at 888-437-8778

    Wednesday
    Oct172012

    A Living Trust Would Have Prevented These Situations...Consider Them Carefully!

    A Living Trust would have prevented this situation

    Martha had been a widow for just one year when she put all of her property, including her house, into joint ownership with her married son. She did this thinking that when she died her property would automatically go to her son without the need for Probate.

    Several years later, her son and his wife separated and Martha decided to sell her house so she could move in with her son. But she soon discovered that she could not sell the house without her daughter-in-law's signature on the deed. The daughter-in-law was still legally married to her son and was entitled by law to a marital interest in the property. The title company would not insure clear title to the buyer without the daughter-in-law's signature because it was not clear what her interest would be.

    Her daughter-in- law refused to sign unless she got part of the money when the house was sold. Martha was stuck! She didn't know that joint ownership with a married person can include that person's spouse. And, because Martha had placed her house in joint ownership with her son, Martha lost control of her own home!

    A Living Trust would have prevented this situation

    Bill and Gloria were an elderly couple who put everything they owned, including their home and stock, in their adult unmarried daughter's name. They believed that when they were both gone this would avoid Probate and all their property would pass directly to their daughter, who was an only child. A year later, Bill died of a heart attack. Several months after that, the daughter was killed in an auto accident.

    Gloria never believed she would ever survive her husband and her daughter. To add to her distress, Gloria now owned nothing in her own name. Everything was in her daughter's name! She was forced to Probate her daughter's estate to get back her own property.

    During this long process she had to rely on the court to grant her living expenses. Sometimes the court would approve expenses. . . sometimes not. And, during a declining stock market, she helplessly watched the value of her stocks fall to only a fraction of their previous value because the court could not react in time for them to be sold quickly enough. Gloria lost her financial independence plus a substantial portion of her assets to Probate just trying to get back what was hers in the first place.

    The consequences if a joint owner cannot sign

    Most married couples own their property jointly, and they assume that if one of them becomes disabled or incompetent, the other can continue to take care of their personal and financial affairs without interruption. But look at what happened to Henry and Mary.

    Henry and Mary were successful and responsible adults. They made safe investments and planned carefully for their future. They owned everything jointly and even had Wills, leaving everything to each other. But in just seconds their lives changed dramatically.

    Henry was in a tragic car accident and suffered extensive head injuries and brain damage. Mary could continue to write checks and pay their day-to-day bills because only one of their signatures was required on their checking account. But soon the cash started running out, and Mary was unable to sell any of their jointly-owned property without both signatures, and since Henry could not sign his name, the only way Mary could sell their property was to place Henry into Probate Guardianship and have the court sign for him. Henry's Will was no help at all because he was still alive.

    Mary had no idea how expensive and cumbersome this legal joint ownership could be. Not only did she have to deal with Henry's situation and the effects of this tragedy on their personal lives, but she had to deal with an impersonal unfeeling court system. She was especially frustrated when she had to pay for the court to approve the sale of their own property and then get the court's approval on how Henry's share of that money would be used, even when it was used to pay for their personal bills and take care of Henry! When Henry finally died more than five years later, Mary found herself back in Probate Court - this time to Probate Henry's Will.

    It can happen to you if you own property through joint ownership

    Many older parents list their adult sons and daughters as joint owners on their property (especially real estate and CD's), mainly to avoid Probate when they die. Many mistakenly assume that their adult children will automatically be able to take over for them if they become disabled or incompetent. Most people just do not know how Joint Ownership can lead to Probate Guardianship. 

    These situations speak for themselves and there are hundreds more. Don’t take the chance of being caught unprepared. You may contact me for confidential consultation at 831-704-6246

    Until Next Time...