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Let’s get started by saying that I do know a financial power of attorney and a living trust are different documents that have different functions and different goals. A living trust is most often a document that describes what happens to your assets after your death, whereas a financial power of attorney (financial POA) allows someone to make decisions for you if you were to become incapacitated, but still were alive. However, because the person who takes over a living trust may do so while you are alive, but incapacitated, this blog post will address some of the most important and common … [Read more...]
How Do You Put Your House Into A Living Trust?
This question seems like an easy one to answer. To transfer your house into a Living Trust, you want to prepare a deed to transfer ownership of the house from you into the trust. In Colorado, you can use a Quitclaim Deed, Warranty Deed, General Warranty Deed, or a Special Warranty Deed to transfer ownership into the trust. Once you have properly prepared the deed to transfer ownership from you into the trust, you can get the deed signed and dated in front of a notary, and then you can record the deed with the county clerk and recorder’s office where the property is located. That transfers … [Read more...]
A Living Trust vs. Revocable Trust Compared Side by Side
Most people use the terms “revocable trust” and “living trust” interchangeably. The terms are usually synonymous, and most everyone I know thinks they are the same thing, but that isn’t always true. Since there are some important differences, I will address the differences in this post: A Living Trust vs. Revocable Trust Compared Side by Side A Living Trust and A Revocable Trust May Not Be The Same Although the terms living trust and revocable trust are often used interchangeably, and often refer to the same type of this, this is not always the case. You will want to communicate … [Read more...]
Using Living Trusts: Simplifying Transfers After You Die
There is a story about a miserly old man who is nearing death. He calls his three closest friends to come visit him on his deathbed. He tells them that he has heard he cannot take his wealth with him, but he wants to give it a try. He hands each of his friends a bag of gold coins and requests that each person place the bag of gold coins in his coffin. A week or so later, the man passes on. At his funeral, each of his friends goes up the casket and leans over the coffin to pay his respect to the deceased man. After the services are over and the burial complete, as the three friends … [Read more...]
Why Don’t I Practice Other Areas of Law?
I answer a lot of phone calls. Many of the calls are for people who want my help with their will, trust, or estate planning, but other calls are not about that. Because I have the word “estate” in the description of what area of law I practice, I also get a lot of calls for real estate law. The word “estate” in common between these two areas of law can cause people searching for a real estate matter to confuse my area of law with what they need. Most times, when people call and ask about an area of law in which I do not practice, I will tell them I am the wrong type of attorney, and I … [Read more...]
The Most Miles I’ve Traveled In a Single Day as a Mobile Estate Planner
I drive a lot. I drive to meet clients at their home, or at an office near them in the Denver Metro and beyond, and I put about 30,000 miles per year on my car. I don’t mind doing this at all, as I enjoy working with clients and I want to make things convenient for them, but there is a lot of revving involved as a mobile estate planning attorney. A few years ago I purchased an electric car, so I don’t spend nearly as much on gas as I previously did, but I now have to worry about the amount of miles I drive in a given day. Just the other day, I drove to Colorado Springs and back and had … [Read more...]
Will I Go To Jail If I Don’t Handle My Mom or Dad’s Estate Plan The Right Way?
The short answer is probably not. I know people get really concerned about doing everything the right way, and I fully understand how people want to do things the right way, especially when it comes to legal matters, but jail usually isn’t the punishment if you happen to make some missteps in handling your Mom or Dad’s estate plan. There are a couple of ways you might end up in jail, but only if you move beyond making a mistake, and move more into nefarious or malevolent actions. Most people are not nefarious or malevolent in what they are doing for a parent’s estate plan. You may be … [Read more...]
3 Times I was Not Able to Help Someone Plan Their Estate Plan
I try to help as many people as I can. I find that I can help most people. Sometimes I am not the best person to help someone - as is the case with people who came to me for help with an estate plan, but they were worth $150 Million. That number far exceeds the current Federal estate tax limit, and I really don’t handle taxable estates, so I referred them to my friends who handle taxable estates. I didn’t want to be trying to do an estate plan for someone with that high of a net worth as my first try because I didn’t want to make a mistake that would possibly cost them $70 Million in … [Read more...]
How Do You Execute a Living Trust In Colorado After A Death?
A trust is a very useful and helpful estate planning document. The trust itself contains the instructions for what to do with assets owned by the trust, usually in the form of a written trust agreement. The written trust agreement should have the names of beneficiaries who are to receive the assets of the trust, whether the named beneficiaries are people, charities, or other entities. The trust agreement may also contain instructions on how assets should be distributed. Many trusts distribute assets outright, free of trust, but other trusts have conditions or restrictions on how the assets … [Read more...]
Why Coloradans Need To Start Early to Protect Your Assets from Medicaid
I frequently get calls from people who tell me that they want to put their assets into a trust to protect the assets from Medicaid. The people who call often tell me that they read somewhere on the Internet that they could put their assets into a trust and qualify for Medicaid assistance. I become the one that needs to tell them that while the concept is true, the Internet often does not tell the whole story. I will then talk to them about the timing involved in setting up a trust to protect assets from Medicaid, and I often end up telling most people that it is likely too late to protect … [Read more...]
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