LIVING TRUST ONLINE - CALIFORNIA

ATTORNEY-ASSISTED AND REVIEWED, FROM $249.00!

DO YOUR CALIFORNIA LIVING TRUST WITH CONFIDENCE!

LEGALMOUSE.COM is an easy, attorney-assisted, low-cost way to prepare your customized California Living Trust, Living Will, Advance Health Care Directive, Durable Power of Attorney for Finances, and Pourover Will, without driving to the attorney’s office, and without paying high attorney fees.  By using LEGALMOUSE.COM, you can receive the same confidence and peace of mind shared by over 6,000 families in California.  Using Attorney Baker’s living trust and supplemental documents, your family can AVOID PROBATE, SAVE OR AVOID ESTATE TAXES, and have the peace of mind which comes from knowing your documents are prepared with attorney quality, without attorney cost!

Do your online California Living Trust with confidence!  Attorney Darren L. Baker will personally review your documents before you sign them, to make sure they fit your needs, and customize them for you, so they are a PERFECT FIT! AND, at any time during the process, you can save your information, and ask attorney Darren L. Baker a question before you proceed!

THE PROCESS

Using Legalmouse.com to do your Living Trust and Estate Plan is as easy as 1-2-3...
in 20 minutes or less!

Step  One - Complete the Wizard:  Answer a few simple questions, enter some information about yourself and your family,   Print the documents, and follow the instructiona to properly sign them, and the first step of the process is complete.

Step Two - Submit Payment: After you have completed the wizard, you will be lead to Paypal, the Trusted online pay service, pay the fee using a credit card, and download the documents to your computer.

Step Three - Print Your Document:  Once you have signed your documents, return to the website.  You will input the date and place at which you signed your documents.  You will then download several documents which will help you fund your trust. In this step you will fund your trust, which means you will have instructions  on  how to put assets  into the name of your trust, or to  change beneficiary status on assets to your trust.  These instructions will be in the form of an OWNER'S MANUAL, which will tell you how to handle the different kinds of assets you have with regards to your trust.  You will also be able to download a sample Quitclaim Deed, with instructions on filling out and signing the deed. This will be used to put your Real Estate into your trust. The  Owner’s Manual will also tell you how to handle assets you may obtain  in the future.  Once you have funded the trust, you are done! Print your documents.

Questions You Will be Asked During This Few Minute Wizard:

Which Trust Are You Choosing?
Do You Have Any Children?
How Many Children?
Their Full Names and The Percentage of Their Inheritance
If Heirs Are Deceased, Do You Want Their Children to Become Heirs?
How Many Trustees Will You Name?
Do You Have Minor Children?

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

WHAT IS A LIVING TRUST?
A living trust, also known as a Revocable Living Trust, is a legal, written document that acts as a substitute for a Last Will and Testament.   Assets put into the Living Trust will avoid Probate when you (and your spouse) are deceased, saving your heirs thousands of dollars and up to two years in court, or more!

WHY SHOULD I HAVE A LIVING TRUST?
A living trust protects the assets in the trust from PROBATE, which is a lengthy, expensive court process which occurs when someone dies, or becomes incapacitated.  A typical living trust in California can save your loved ones as much as 4% of the value of the estate or more, and up to two years in court or more.  If you have a house worth $500,000, the probate costs and fees are usually between $14,000 and $27,000, or more.

HOW DOES A LIVING TRUST WORK?
In a living trust, you are the Trustor, also known as a Grantor or Settlor.  The Trustor creates the living trust by signing the document.  Only the Trustor may amend (change) the living trust, or revoke (cancel) it.  You will also name yourself as Trustee.  The Trustee of a living trust is the person who handles the assets in the trust.  Once you put assets into the name of the living trust, a process called FUNDING, you will manage them for your own benefit, to use as you please.

You will also name successor Trustees, who will take over for you when you are deceased or incapacitated.  The successor Trustee will pass your asssets to your beneficiaries when you die, under the terms and restrictions written in the living trust document.  Your heirs inherit under the circumstances you choose, and the assets are managed by the Successor Trustee pursuant to your trust.

DO I HAVE TO USE AN ATTORNEY TO CREATE MY LIVING TRUST?
Most of the time, the powerful tools of Legalmouse.com will be sufficient to take care of your living trust needs.  If your situation is very complicated, or if you have heirs with special needs, you do need an attorney.  Attorney Darren L. Baker, the founder of Legalmouse.com, can assist you.

CAN I USE MY ASSETS WHEN I HAVE A LIVING TRUST?
Yes!  Since it is your trust, you will use your assets just like you do now.  You are totally in control of your estate.

WILL A LIVING TRUST PROTECT ME FROM CREDITOR LAWSUITS?
No, a living trust is not a creditor protection device.  Since you handle your assets yourself for your own benefit, your creditors can attach those assets in a lawsuit.

CAN A LIVING TRUST PROTECT ME FROM CATASTROPHIC ILLNESS EXPENSES?
No, because the assets in the living trust are yours, any creditor, including medical expense creditors, may take payment for these expenses from your estate.  Consulting an insurance agent who sells long-term care insurance may reduce or avoid these expenses.

DO I NEED OTHER DOCUMENTS IF I HAVE A LIVING TRUST?
When you have a Living Trust, you should also have a Durable Power of Attorney for Property Management, which will name someone to handle your assets and day-to-day financial affairs in case you are incapacitated.  You should also have an Advance Health Care Directive (Living Will) and Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care, which allows someone you name to make health care decisions for you when you can’t, and, if necessary, to “Pull the plug”.

DO I NEED A SEPARATE TAX RETURN FOR THE LIVING TRUST?
No, you file your income tax returns just as you do now.

CAN I MOVE ASSETS IN AND OUT OF THE TRUST?
Yes, because it is revocable, and because you are the Trustee of your trust, you can sell or spend assets, change where your assets are, and add new assets to your trust, without consulting an attorney.

WILL A LIVING TRUST AVOID OR REDUCE INHERITANCE TAXES?
Inheritance taxes, which are technically called “Estate Taxes”, can be avoided or reduced by the use of an A-B TRUST.  Under current law, an A-B TRUST can shelter 4 million dollars or more from estate taxes.

DO I STILL NEED A WILL IF I HAVE A LIVING TRUST?
Yes, you will need a Last Will and Testament, called a POUROVER WILL.  It will do two things:  1) It will put assets which are not in the living trust at your death into your Living Trust when you die, and 2) If you have children under age 18, it names the Guardian for your children.  The Guardian will raise the children, and act as their parent, if the children are under 18 when you pass away.