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| Elder Law Questions & Answers |
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QUESTION: I am a 62 year old widow and have grown children. I see a lot of seminars for “living trusts”. What is a living trust and could it help me?
ANSWER: Be cautious. Some people selling Living Trusts say that the advantage is that at death there’s no estate to administer and no attorney to pay. Some even claim there is no estate tax to pay.
But both of these claims are usually untrue. Most revocable trusts require on-going review and of course, on-going review of the trust and its enforcement. An attorney will be required for all but very simple living trusts. As for avoiding taxes, under the United States Internal Revenue Code, a person who has the power to change their mind up to the moment of death is deemed to have died vested with the asset. Therefore, the inheritance and estate taxes will still have to be paid.
Living trust scams are widespread. The scams often operate at two levels:
- The seller charges the consumer for the plan, which may be packaged well (leather-bound folder, lots of related forms, etc.) but often is inadequate, inappropriate and overpriced.
- The seller uses the plan to learn about the consumer's finances, leading to the sale of inappropriate investments or outright theft of assets.
How can you be sure you are getting good advice? Find a lawyer you can trust, and don’t be afraid to get a second opinion. |
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| Contact Attorney Roger Gaydos: 724.745.4030 |
|  Roger J. Gaydos,
Attorney at Law
407 Oak Spring Rd.
Canonsburg, PA 15317
TEL: 724.745.4030
FAX: 724.745.6117 © Roger J. Gaydos, Attorney At Law. All rights reserved. Disclaimer: The information provided in this site is not legal advice. It is only general information on legal issues commonly encountered. Use of GaydosLegal.com is not a substitute for consulting with Roger J. Gaydos the Attorney. All of the content available at GaydosLegal.com, including sample legal documents is for self-help and informational purposes only, and in no way does your use of this site or the content or documents herein constitute the exchange of actual legal advise or a establish a client-attorney relationship in any way. |
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