Neutral on Living Trusts
Looking on the internet for information for another post I was writing, I came across this post by the North Carolina Estate Planning Blog.
I agree with his position on living trusts and his comments on North Carolina are applicable for Arizona. He stated:
Some North Carolina attorneys are also guilty of overstating the value of living trusts, implying that probate is much more costly than it actually is, and that estate taxes savings can be achieved only by the use of living trusts (as opposed to wills). Of course, some attorneys go to the other extreme and don't believe i[n] using living trusts in any situation.
I view myself as "neutral," only recommending living trusts when I think there will truly be a cost savings or other benefit. I have had many new clients come into the office requesting living trusts based on advice of friends or articles they had read, when a will is a simpler, cheaper method of transferring thier property.
Not everyone will benefit from a trust. Sometimes a will and powers of attorney are enough. Probate is not always an expense to be avoided in Arizona, unlike our west coast neighbors in California where probate is definitely more expensive.
