Los Angeles Trusts Attorneys in Claremont
If you are an individual with substantial assets, setting up a trust in addition to a will can be an essential and effective part of estate planning. A properly executed trust can protect your assets from probate and ensure that your heirs are cared for upon your passing. A poorly executed trust, on the other hand, can leave you without proper protection for your assets and land your family in probate, wasting their time and resources and creating a greater risk that your assets are not distributed in accordance with your wishes. A knowledgeable trusts lawyer at Blasser Law can help you set up the trusts necessary to protect your assets and ensure financial security for yourself and your loved ones and handle any associated legal matters surrounding the creation and implementation of your trust.
Living Trusts
Living trusts are extremely useful tools to avoid probate and reduce estate taxes for married couples. Probate is the process by which a court administers your estate, either according to your will or according to state law in the absence or invalidation of a will. Probate is expensive; you could lose up to five percent of your estate in probate costs.
A living trust allows you to transfer your assets to a trust during your lifetime. The effect is such that when you pass away, your assets already belong to the trust, and the state will have no assets to administer. Your heirs will, therefore, avoid the costs and complications associated with probate. Additionally, if you are married, a trust can ensure that your assets will ultimately pass to your children or other designated heirs should you be the first spouse to pass away. A living trust will give you the security that your assets will be distributed per your wishes, alleviating the fear that unforeseen circumstances will derail your plans for your estate after your passing.
Trusts are only helpful if they are effectuated correctly. A poorly drafted trust, as discussed below, can be invalidated in whole or in part. Moreover, assets must be properly transferred into a trust, which involves a much more complicated process than creating a will. It is important to get the help of a seasoned and dedicated Los Angeles trusts lawyer to put together a proper, airtight trust that accurately reflects your desires and will stand up to legal scrutiny.
Trust Contests
If you are or should be an intended beneficiary of a trust, or an estate trying to effectuate the provisions of a trust, and there are potential problems with the trust, then you or another interested party may engage in a trust contest. A trust contest is a formal objection to the execution of the trust on the grounds that the existing document does not accurately reflect the intent of the settlor (the person who established the trust), or that the trust violates some other public policy.
Trust contests can take multiple forms, including:
- Challenging the validity of a trust
- Interpreting a stipulated trust provision
- Enforcing constructive trusts (an equitable remedy, also called an implied trust) on express trust terms
- Including or excluding beneficiaries, such as excluded children born after the creation of a trust or will
Trusts can be contested on similar grounds as those that are used to contest a will, including fraud, duress, lack of capacity, undue influence, against public policy, etc. Contesting a trust is a complex procedure and requires expert legal knowledge of trust and estate law. If you have grounds to believe that a trust should be invalidated in whole or in part, or you are defending the execution of a trust that has been challenged, the seasoned trust contest lawyer at Blasser Law can help.
The trust attorneys at Blasser Law are also prepared to field other legal challenges surrounding trusts, including:
- Accounting of trust finances
- Trust reformation
- Breach of fiduciary duty by a trust administrator
- Trust misappropriation and mismanagement
Help With Your Los Angeles Trust
Reach out to a dedicated estate planning attorney at Blasser Law today to start planning for your future. We are happy to assist in determining the best form of trust for you and your family, and we’ll help to ensure that your financial future is secure. Our attorneys are ready to help clients with trust contests, whether they are trying to effectuate a trust as written or pointing out inadequacies or other problems in an existing trust. Please contact us by phone or email to arrange a consultation with a trusts and estate planning attorney today.
