THE LAW OFFICE OF EDWARD B. BATISTA



CAUTION!  WHEN IT COMES TO ESTATE PLANNING (Wills, Trusts, etc.), BEWARE OF FOUR THINGS:

1.  INSURANCE AGENTS AND FINANCIAL PLANNERS.    
    An estate plan is NOT a financial service.  It is a legal matter that lawfully requires an attorney to draft and advise upon.  There are no exceptions under California law, period.  
      Non-attorneys try to get around this requirement by meeting with a potential and then sending the actual work to a drafting attorney who's never met you and has no idea what your needs are other than what information he's been given.  The non-attorney initial contact person is only taking down information they, in their unqualified and illegal status as "estate planner/drafter", think is important!  
     The purpose of an estate plan is to meet your specific needs.  Having an unqualified and non-attorney estate planner is a sure fire way to get a cookie-cutter document with little consideration for your specific needs.  Don't do it -- it'll cost you more money in the long run.  See below for some of the bits of misinformation I've seen regarding trusts. 

2.   TRUST MILLS AND SEMINARS.  
      In these operations a flyer is published offering very low-cost trusts and wills.  The problem is the same as with any non-attorney adviser and drafter.  A non-attorney and unqualified person takes down your information based on what they, in their unqualified position, think you need.  Then that person sends a box full of intake forms to an attorney to draft them.  The problem is that the drafting attorney has never met you and doesn't know a thing about your specific and unique estate planning needs.  You'll end up with a cookie-cutter estate plan useful to only a very small percentage of the public.  Don't do it. 

3.    ONLINE SERVICES.  
       Online services offer low cost estate plans and appear very legitimate because they often have attorney spokespersons.  The problem is that, again, you're filling out a generic form that misses many of the subtleties involved in properly planning a typical family's estate.  Only a small percentage of families have circumstances so simple that such a service would be effective, i.e., no step children, no second marriages, no separate property, no concern for possible estate taxes, no concern for whether an inheritance should be kept in trust to protect it from being squandered by a spendthrift, etc., etc., etc. 
 
4.  COMMON MISINFORMATION REGARDING TRUSTS.
     Here are a bits of misinformation and misleading statements propagated by non-attorney "estate planners" in attempt to scare you into a trust.  
     
      a.    "With a trust if you are married and your [combined] estate is worth less than $4 Million there will be no federal estate taxes to pay."      
                  FACT:  THIS IS TRUE ONLY IF YOU HAVE A SPECIALIZED KIND OF TRUST; A "BASIC" TRUST WILL BE OF NO ESTATE TAX BENEFIT.
     
      b.    "Without a trust if you are married and your [combined] estate is over $2 Million, without proper planning your family may owe federal estate taxes of 46%."  
                 FACT:  THIS CAN HAPPEN EVEN IF YOU HAVE A BASIC TRUST; IT REQUIRES A SPECIAL KIND OF TRUST TO AVOID THE ESTATE TAX. 

        c.     "With a trust ... you'll avoid a conservatorship if you become incapacitated -- so your estate will be run as you see fit."  
                FACT: THE TRUSTEE YOU APPOINT IN YOUR TRUST DOES NOT HAVE THE POWER TO DEAL WITH EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR FINANCIAL AND PERSONAL AFFAIRS; YOU MAY STILL NEED A CONSERVATOR IF YOU BECOME INCAPACITATED. 

        d.    "Without a trust ... if you become incapacitated or unable to sign documents a court may assign a conservator to run your estate as the court sees fit."  
                FACT: A SIMPLE POWER OF ATTORNEY WILL FIX THIS EVEN WITHOUT HAVING A TRUST.  MOREOVER, COURTS DO NOT RUN YOUR AFFAIRS;YOUR CONSERVATOR WILL RUN YOUR AFFAIRS AND THAT PERSON IS USUALLY A TRUSTED LOVED ONE WHO THE COURT SIMPLY KEEPS AN EYE ON TO AVOID ABUSES.   

      This is just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.  Please contact me and I'd be happy to chat with you for free about any questions you may have.