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- Sandy L. | TestimonialsAlthough living trusts have been around for centuries, only recently have they achieved a high degree of popularity among the general public. The reason for this surge in popularity is that living trusts help to avoid probate. You might be wondering, “What is probate, and why is everyone trying so hard to avoid it?” The short answer is that probate is a court-supervised procedure for collecting a deceased person’s assets, paying debts and taxes, and distributing the property to the person’s beneficiaries (either according to the instructions the person set forth in his or her will or as determined by state law if the person died without a will). The probate process usually takes 6 to 12 months to complete, although it may take longer in complicated cases.
Probate is not a tax. When people refer to the high costs of probate, they are usually referring to the fees paid to attorneys and the personal representative. In California, these fees are calculated as a percentage of the gross (not net) value of the assets in the estate. These rates are set out in Probate Code §§10800 and 10810. Living trusts avoid probate with respect to those assets that are transferred into the living trust before death. In other words, living trusts avoid the court procedure otherwise required to transfer assets to a person’s beneficiaries at death. Probate cannot be avoided unless planning is done in advance.
Sacramento Trust Attorney, Duncan Law | Duncan Tax can assist you if you find yourself handling an estate that did not have a plan in place. We work with you to take reasonable steps and follow court instructions and requirements to manage the assets that you have a fiduciary duty to carry out.
