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David A. Casey- Attorney

Living Trust Planning Attorney, San Diego County

365 Broadway - Suite 203,  El Cajon, California

Telephone  (619)   447-6780  - E-mail:  Familylaw1@aol.com

Beware of Trust Mills

There are many advertisements for Living Trusts at a seemingly very low cost.  But buyer beware so to speak!  Please read on to find out how to prevent making the wrong decision.  There are two kinds of trust mills.   I will explain both of them and the reasons I strongly feel you should avoid them.  

 Beware of Living Trust Mills.  You Should Avoid Trust Mills!

Trust Mill  #1

There are a good number of advertisements in newspapers that entice you with a free lunch or dinner along with a seminar.  Based on feedback from many clients,  the seminars they attended were either given by an attorney or a moderator who travels from town to town selling these living trusts for a very enticing price.  That's right. There is no local office or local contact number.

What they don't tell you is that their trust is a basic plan and only generally addresses certain basic needs.  It is NOT specifically drafted to meet your own wishes for your estate.  Many times they give you the trust but you have to pay separately for all the supporting documents.  Very seldom do they stay in town while your trust is being drafted.    They will get some very basic information from you and will mail you the trust for you to get notarized without going over the trust with you.  

I do not practice this way.  I want you to be fully informed.  My office prepares the living trust to meet your specific needs and to cover your personal and real property.  Please remember when you are quoted a price from me,  it is not only for the trust but for each and every document included in the portfolio.  

 Beware of Living Trust Mills.  You Should Avoid Trust Mills!

Reasons you should avoid Trust Mill #1. 

1.  They are here today and gone tomorrow. 

2.  They get your information and send you the trust without explaining it to you.

3.  The person to whom you speak to regarding the trust may not be the person who will be drafting it.

4.  If you have a problem they might not be in business the next month.

5.  They give you a low price for a trust and if you want all the documents that are really needed, they will charge you additional fees.  Most of the time you will pay much more than going to a living trust attorney locally.  I want to meet with the person or person(s) for who I'm drafting the trust for.  I believe in reviewing the trust after it has been prepared prior to giving it to the client for their review.   

Trust Mill Type #2

Their objective is to offer you a trust at a very reasonable price but at the same time try to sell you other products such as an annuity, life insurance or other items where they make enough more money.  So that reasonable price that you are think you are paying for the trust is really a high inflated price. 

Here are the reasons you should avoid this kind of trust mill.

1.  There may be a conflict of interest for a person drafting the trust and to sell you another product.  It may not be illegal, but do you get what you really wanted in the first place.  It is almost like a "bait and switch" where someone advertises one thing then when you get there, you are offered something else.

2. You may be investing in a product on a long term basis which can be very costly.

3.  As in the Trust Mill #1, there are representatives that travel from town to town and are not really concerned about the content of the trust.  They may appear to treat you congenially at first, but to them you are just a number after they leave.

Trust Mill Type #3

Unfortunately, this Trust Mill is one that can cause a lot of litigation.  A person goes online and answers a few questions.  Then they send a trust to you where you fill in most of the blanks.   I can not tell you how many times they end up in probate since the document was not filled in properly or even left bank.  These errors can lead to the estate being placed in probate which can costs many thousands of dollars.  

To me you are wasting your precious money.  Do you know if community property law governs any part of your estate?  Do you need to list a 401K or IRA in a trust and when it is beneficial to do so?   If you are filling in the blanks, you could make a very costly mistake.  Why take a risk?

BE CAUTIOUS!!!  Do Not Provide Personal and Private Information Without Knowing What Will Happen To It.

Unfortunately,  there are identity thieves who prey on their victims into providing them will very personal information such as needed for your trust documents.  

These are con artists and they are found with many "trust mills". 

Beware of Living Trust Mill.  You Should Avoid Trust Mills

SENIOR DISCOUNTS - AGE 55 OR OLDER OR RETIRED OR ACTIVE MILITARY.  Click Here

Attorney Casey can arrange to travel to you in San Diego County if you are unable to  come into his office in El Cajon, CA.  Ask about the travel fee and revocable trust package.

This trust package doesn't have hidden fees!  It is NOT a "fill in the blanks" trust.  I take pride in giving you quality service at a reasonable price. 

* Up to a one half hour office consultation with attorney to determine your Estate needs as it pertains to your living trust needs.  This includes a review of your estate planning questionnaire and documents that you provide to my office.  The heart of your Estate Planning packet is a Living Trust.

* Revocable Living Trust (up to 40 pages in length) -   Specifies who will manage the Trust and the beneficiaries after the death of each person.

* Wills for each of you if you are married (up to 10 pages in length).   In case you left assets out of your will for some specific reason, they can pour over into the trust after your death. Sometimes people forget to include property in the trust after the trust has been completed.    A will acts as a vehicle to put the remaining assets into the trust to be managed.

* Durable Power of Attorney for each of you (if you are married.)  A durable power of attorney can be several pages for each of you.   This appoints someone, such as a spouse or a trusted relative, to act for you as a financial manager if you are unable to do so for some reason.   This could be a temporary or a long turn appointment.

* Community property agreement if it is deemed to be in your best interest.  This has a lot to do with tax basis of the property and potential capital gain responsibility to the IRS.

* Health Care Power of Attorney - Also known as a Living Will.   This  appoints someone to make a trusted decision in the event you are unable to do so.  This is a very important document since it gives the power  to direct  physicians to perform or withhold treatment.  This person is usually a spouse or a trusted relative or friend who knows what your wishes are regarding medical treatment. 

* Physicians Directive- Directs your physician regarding your wishes for healthcare.  Also known as a Health Care Directive.  HIPAA release and Notice of Intent to Return Home documents included.

* Deed to transfer California real property into the Trust.  Additional  fees are charged when there is more than one real property.  

*Letters of Instruction to bankers, stock brokers, IRA custodians, pension plan administrators, life insurance companies.

                    A great Living Trust Package covering what you need!

Entire trust packages includes the items listed above!    If  the estate is under 2.1 million the cost of the trust portfolio is between $1,200 to $1,400 {senior discounts age 55 or older included}.

If you purchase the services separately, the total could be over $2,700.00.  By providing all the services at once, it saves time.  Plus you get an attorney drafted trust, not one from one of the trust mills who offer a free seminar and may not ever return to San Diego.  

So call today for your quote!

Looking for trust attorney in California, El Cajon, Rancho San Diego, San Diego or Lemon Grove? Call 618 447-6780

The entire trust package can be prepared for any one who is a resident in the state of California.  Most of the time, the services can be performed via the telephone, e-mail, fax or over night express mail.   You may not even have to come into the office if you have transportation problems,  ill or just can't arrange the time during office hours.  

Notary Services Available on sight or will travel to your location!  Trust package rates available.  Reasonable travel fees.  No need to go elsewhere.

Other Trust services:

    -    Grandchild's trust.            

     -    Special Needs Trust.   This is a trust within your trust and is mainly used when the person is a physically or emotionally handicap child or adult who will be receiving the benefit from the trust and is also receiving state or federal assistance.  This help to allows the child to continue to receive benefits for both as long as possible.

     -    Basic Trust with pour over will.  

     -   Complex trusts with real property, a business, which will serve as the deed of the trustee.    

WILLS -  WITHOUT A TRUST

     -    Simple wills without a trust -  $100.00 with up to a twenty minute consultation and questionnaire to be filled out by client.   Complex wills with children from more than one relationship. ($75.00 for each additional child to be included or excluded from the will).  

TRAVEL  TIME  FOR  AN  IN HOME CONSULTATION FOR WILL OR TRUST

    -      If necessary,  if attorney travels to an agreed upon location, there is an additional charge based on the time expended and mileage.  This must be paid in advance even if  a trust or will is not prepared.   Wills or trusts prepared  for someone who is in a hospital, rest home or requires an attorney, or a legal assistant  to make a personal visit to the location of the person making the will, an additional fee of  $350.00 is charged  for up to two visits.  If documents need to be notarized then those fees are charged by the notary and are paid separately. 

DVD TAPING OF INTERVIEW OF CLIENT WHEN IT IS ANTICIPATED THE WILL MAY BE CONTESTED.

    -      Other cases where there may be a need to video tape the interview,  there is a fee of $40 per twenty minutes of interview.   This includes the cost of the DVD.

PROBATE

    -     Probate.   There is NO fee for an initial consultation up to 45 minutes.  This is more than enough time to determine if there is a probate need.  If the deceased left a will, there is no charge for the review of the will within the time frame indicated.  Attorney fees are based on the amount that the State of California sets.  Client is only responsible to pay the initial filling fee as required by law.  The filling fees varies based on the gross amount of the value of the estate.

Beware of Living Trust Mill.  You Should Avoid Trust Mills

Read Avoid Living Trust Mills. How To Spot a Trust Mill In San Diego

There are many trust mills advertisements for Living Trusts in San Diego, El Cajon, Santee, at a seemingly very low cost. But buyer beware. Read why.

Experience attorney gives information about trust mills and why you should avoid them. Learn about living trust, mill, trust mill, attorney, trust package and  trust attorney. Learn how to avoid trust mills during your estate planning,. Need a good trust attorney in El Cajon, San Diego,  Lakeside, Santee, La Mesa. call attorney David A Casey