Trust lawyers are objective third parties who can offer sound advice and help you or your trustee correctly manage your estate and assets. But how do you actually go about finding the right trust lawyer for you? Trust lawyers or attorneys can be important parts of our lives, providing legal help and counsel to your trustee who is managing your trust account. As with everything today, some estates and trusts can come with a lot of paperwork and prove to be incredibly large and complex. Choosing the correct trust lawyer for your purposes will depend entirely on what kind of trust you have.
What Types of Trusts are There?
The simple answer? Many! That said, some of the most common types of trusts our clients tend to encounter are:
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Living Trusts
Living Trusts can make complicated inheritance procedures uncomplicated by allowing you to avoid Probate. Your assets are placed into a Trust that you are in control of during your lifetime. Upon your passing, your assets remain the assets of your Trust and are therefore not subject to probate. Your co-trustee (perhaps your spouse) or successor Trustee distributes your assets in accordance with your instructions as per the terms of the Trust. This takes away the red tape and allows your assets to pass to the beneficiaries of your trust. Furthermore, Living Trusts allow for added privacy as only the trustees will be privy to the information regarding the distribution of assets. Unfortunately, Living Trusts come with additional legal expenses. However, these expenses are far less than the expense of a probate proceeding.
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Testamentary Trusts
Testamentary Trusts are different from Living Trusts in that they are subject to probate because they are created as part of someone’s last Will and Testament. Because of this, Testamentary Trusts also take longer before they actually come into effect, unlike a Living Trust which is instant. Another important thing to note about Testamentary Trusts is that they lack the privacy of a Living Trust, whereby the content of your assets and the distribution of your assets will be public, just as your Will is. The positive side of these trusts, though, is that they’re affordable and require less paperwork to create given that they are part of the Will already.
What Factors Should Influence Which Trust Lawyer I Use?
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Experience
Because of how complicated the terms are surrounding different types of trusts, it’s imperative that you choose a trust lawyer who has the necessary experience to handle your trust. An experienced trust attorney will be able to advise on which trust type is the best for your purposes and ensure that your assets and interests are protected.
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Reputation
We all know that your reputation speaks for itself and you’ll be able to find out pretty quickly whether the lawyer you’re choosing to handle your trust has a good history or not. Ask around, look online, and ask for references from clients.
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Local Knowledge
While there is federal law, state law also needs to be taken into consideration, and it’s of the utmost importance that the trust lawyer you choose understands both. Clients in the Coral Springs area, for example, would do well to select the services of Gary Handin given that he is a member of The Florida Bar. Lawyers can also have multiple areas of expertise across different states, as seen with Gary Handin who is also a member of The New York Bar.
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Transparent presence
A commendable trust attorney and firm will have a significant presence in the public realm, whether that is online or elsewhere. You shouldn’t have to do more than type a name into google before you find information on the trust lawyer you are thinking of using.
The Law Offices of Gary I. Handin, P.A., have extensive experience in dealing with trusts of all kinds, specializing in real estate law, foreclosure defense, title insurance, business law, estate planning, and probate.