When clients call to determine what is required to set up a trust, our Los Angeles County attorney talks to them about several items below as part of the requirements of establishing a trust or living trust: 1) Questions to determine the competency of the client; 2) Goals of the Client and 3) Finances of the Client. We ask questions that help us as attorneys determine if the client is under undue influence by someone.
A. Competency
A competent person usually knows his or her own assets, is able to communicate the identity of his heirs or beneficiaries, and is able to appreciate the consequences of a decision. Although when in Court, competency of a person is an area for expert witness testimony, lawyers are trained to ask enough questions of their estate planning clients to be able to accept or reject the client based on perceived competency or incompetency of a client.
B. Free Will
A person who sets up a trust must be exercising free will. Free will means that he or she is free of undue influence by someone else who is trying to subvert the judgment of the person making a trust or will.
C. Communication
Communication by a potential client in the desire to set up a will or trust or create an estate plan is a key factor in determining the viability of the estate plan. A potential client who is unable to communicate his or her own wishes is not a good target for a regular living trust or will. If a person is incompetent to communicate those wishes, the act of setting up a living trust then is done by a court order in a conservatorship case.
D. Financial Assets
Sometimes people call us wanting to establish a trust in Los Angeles but tell us that all of their assets already have beneficiary designations. In that case, we have to determine what assets will pass free of trust by contract, and which assets the client would like to transfer to the trust after the trust is created or established. The nature of the assets, the alternatives to the living trust, and the size of the estate also play a role in the creation of an integrated estate plan, regardless of whether it is by trust, will or other alternatives.
E. Where do I go to establish a trust near me?
When you are ready to set up a living trust or a will, contact our Los Angeles County attorneys at Sirkin Law Group for a free consultation at 818.340.4479. We serve all of Los Angeles County and the San Fernando Valley California.
