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Who Needs a Family Trust and Who Doesn’t?

By Barry Peters | Aug 21, 2019

How can you determine just who needs a Family Trust and who doesn’t?

The primary factor in making that call is the nature and value of what you own. The more you own, the greater the likelihood that probate will be required when you pass away. And for those who would like their heirs to not have to go through probate, a Family Trust is the best solution.

So how much in assets will push you over that line? Here are the rules:

  • If you own any real estate, regardless of its value, probate will almost always be required when you die.
  • If you don’t own any real estate, but have other assets with a total value in excess of $100,000, probate will still be required when you pass away.

So, the only people that are safe from the requirement of probate are those who own no real estate and whose other assets have a value of less than $100,000. Those people can often do without a Family Trust and still avoid probate.

But for the rest of us, a Family Trust is the best vehicle for dodging probate.

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Daniel made the entire process simple and easy to understand. He took our questions and made sure we understood all the legal aspects and responsibilities seamless.

Neal V.

We want to thank Matt, he was very helpful in answering our questions and walking us through the process of setting up our Family Trust.

Charlotte G.

Marcus West was so helpful in setting up our trust. We had several questions and a lot of properties to manage. He was professional & has a great personality.

Pamela B.

Ben, you were very thorough in your explanations, answered all of our questions & we would be happy to put our names to referrals for you.

Darrell C.

Hello, Ben. Thank you for your assistance with out trust. Your simple, concise, efficient instructions and explanations were easy to understand and follow. We were pleasantly surprised how quickly you were able to get everything set up and ready to go.

Desta R.

We wanted a trust/will set up and Daniel was great to work with. We got scheduled pretty quickly and once we had our initial conference call, Daniel had all the paperwork completed within a week. I highly recommend.

Whitney S.

We were perfectly satisfied & would recommend you to others. Our banker and other people we had to go to said you did a good job.

Gary & Carol C.

We appreciated your patience with us in answering our questions & your expertise in getting the title to our home & beneficiaries on our IRA’s completed. Thank you for your time.

Anthony & Julie A.

It was a pleasure working with you, Ben. Thank you for updating our Living Trust and fitting us into your busy schedule in such short notice.

Denise Z.

Thank you, Matt! We are so grateful we chose you as our Trust Attorney. It’s a good feeling to have this taken care of.

Carol D.

Everything went smoothly and well. Marcus was organized and professional. He was able to answer all our questions and guide us on the best path for us to take. Thank you, Marcus.

John & Joy G.

You made the process simple and straightforward by answering my questions and preparing the documents in a timely manner. The list of things to do after signing was clear and concise. Thank you!

Jane W.
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