A Trust Can Protect Your Interests

At Canopy Realty, we deeply believe in our firm’s mission that we are here to protect your interests. When we work with clients, we consider you members of our family. We care about your overall well being, beyond the nuts and bolts of a real estate transaction.

 

Last week, we had the pleasure of hosting a webinar with Lilian Tsang of Tsang Law (www.tsanglegal.com). Lilian is a Trusts & Estates lawyer who is an expert in her field. She offered some wonderful guidance about the benefits of establishing a trust.

 

Here are three key takeaways from our webinar:

 

Probate is expensive and time consuming! If you pass away without having your assets held in a trust (even if you have a will), the distribution of your assets will need to be determined through a lengthy and expensive probate process. For a $1mn estate that is uncontested, the probate process is estimated to cost $46k. For a $10mn estate, the minimum probate fees would be $226k. Your assets would be tied up as your estate goes through the probate process, which can take 1-2 years.

 

Establishing a trust is relatively easy and cost effective and avoids probate. If your assets are held in a trust, then you avoid the probate process. Lilian offers a consultative approach where she will walk you through various scenarios to understand how you would want your estate handled upon your passing. She will prepare all of the legal documents and can even help with re-titling your real estate assets into the name of your trust. The base price for establishing a trust plus transferring one property into the trust is $4k.

 

With a trust in place, you receive so much more than asset protection. Your trust would include your will so you can clearly identify who is to receive what in the event of your passing. You would also establish medical directives so you can appoint people to make decisions for you if you become incapacitated or clearly state your wishes if this were to be the case. While these scenarios may not be the most fun to consider, having a disciplined approach to addressing them ensures that your final wishes are documented and can then be carried out.

 

Interested in learning more? Email me ([email protected]), and I will share the link to our presentation. Want a free consultation? Sign up to speak with Lilian on her website at www.tsanglegal.com.

 

(Canopy Realty does not receive any compensation if you work with Lilian. We just think she’s super cool and like-minded in wanting to help others with her talents. And, no element of our presentation or this blog post is to be construed as offering tax advice. Please consult with your tax advisor to receive information on your unique situation and before making any trusts and estates decisions.)