Hiring The Proper Estate Lawyer

By Adrianna Noton


Hire an estate lawyer to create an effective estate plan which includes a will and living trust. Most people do not like thinking about dying or end of life issues including funeral arrangements. But even if one does not like thinking about death one should think about the welfare of loved ones.

If a person dies without having a clear directive about the distribution of money and property the courts will decide who receives the money and property left behind by the decedent. A living trust and a will are documents which name the beneficiaries of the decedent's money and property that are created by the owner of the land and property. A trust is not a complicated document but the trust must be properly formed so that it will withstand judicial review.

The living trust must be properly written and properly funded so when the owner of trust passes away the transfer of assets can be made smoothly and without incident. The owner of the trust is referred to as the trustee. Basically, the owner of the trust is holding assets in trust for the benefit of the person who is named in the trust who will receive named assets at the death of the trustee.

The living trust is a popular asset protection plan for one major reason which is probate avoidance. Probate is the court process that all wills must go through before a will is determined to be legally binding. A will is different from a trust in that the will is a written document that outlines a person's wishes of who is to receive his assets upon the will writer's death.

The living trust does not have to be validated by the probate court. The living trust transfers the decedent's assets upon the trust owner's death so that the beneficiary need not worry about court fees, lawyer bills, or legal delays. The living trust ensures privacy unlike a will which is open to the public as any other legal court proceeding.

Probate reduces the amount of assets the beneficiary receives because the probate court charges a fee and lawyers have to be paid. The probate court and lawyer fees come out of the assets left by the decedent. But in reality the beneficiaries pay for court costs and legal fees.

A living trust does not have to be authenticated by the court so there are no legal or court fees coming out of the assets. The beneficiary of the decedent's assets does not have to wait for the completion of a court process and receives the decedent's assets immediately. A living trust is a private matter between decedent and beneficiary whereas a will is a public matter and can be challenged in court, can be attached by creditors, or can be printed in the newspaper.

Hire a Real Estate Lawyer Brampton to prepare a living trust because a trust must be properly written and properly funded in order for it to take proper effect at the time of the death of the trust owner. Many people try to create their own living trust because they do not want to pay legal fees. However, many would be beneficiaries find out that the living trust that was supposed to transfer assets to their name was not created properly and is therefore invalid.




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