San Jose Trust Attorneys
Providing Legal Guidance for Clients In Need of Estate Plans
If you’re considering making an estate plan to ensure your family will be financially set when you’re no longer here, it’s time to call San Jose attorneys for estate planning help. We can review your current circumstances and financial goals for the future to decide which estate planning tools would most benefit your family.
In many cases, you’ll find that including one or more trusts in your estate plan is recommended. If you’re curious about why that is and what type of trust would be right for your family, contact Trust Law Legacy Group, APC for answers. Our lawyers have assisted numerous clients with estate plans personalized for their unique situations, and we would be happy to do the same for you. Call today to schedule a consultation with the caring lawyers at our San Jose law office.
Why Should You Consider Adding a Trust to Your Estate Plan?
When you begin the process of setting up an estate plan, you’ll find that you have access to several estate planning tools, one of which is a trust. When you set up a trust, you create a legal agreement stating that you no longer legally own any assets you transfer to the trust. Instead, your chosen trustee will manage the trust assets until it’s time to transfer ownership to your beneficiaries, typically when you pass away.
Trusts are nearly as popular as wills when it comes to estate planning options. However, wills and trusts serve different purposes, which is why there’s room for both in most estate plans. The point of a will is to clarify how you want your assets distributed to your family members when you pass away. This legal document can also appoint a guardian for your children and specify your preferences for your funeral and burial services. However, wills lack most of the benefits that trusts have.
The main benefits of trusts compared to wills and other estate planning tools include:
- The ability to avoid probate, a lengthy legal process that can delay your beneficiaries from getting your assets after your death
- More control over how your property is distributed, as you can choose from different types of trusts and leave specific instructions on when each beneficiary gets their assets
- Privacy, since trust administration is not a matter of public record like probate is
- Lower taxes once valuable assets are no longer in your name
- Protection from creditors, depending on the type of trust you create
If you’re intrigued by these benefits of trusts, contact our San Jose law firm to speak with a caring lawyer about the estate planning process. We’ll work with you to ensure your plan includes the right tools for your situation, so call today to get started.
What Are the Different Types of Trusts?
Before you set up a trust, it’s best to get to know the types of trusts available to you, since each one has different advantages. Your San Jose lawyer can guide you toward the one that’s suitable for you if you have questions about your options, but it helps to get an idea of what’s available first.
To start, know that every trust is considered either a living trust or a testamentary trust. This distinction refers to when it was created. Living trusts are set up during your lifetime, while testamentary trusts are created after you’ve passed away, according to the terms in your will.
Trusts are further divided into revocable and irrevocable trusts. Revocable trusts are living trusts that allow the person creating them – called the grantor – to serve as the trustee. This means if you make a revocable trust, you can remain in charge of it during your lifetime, so you can move assets in and out of it as desired and even revoke it at any time. Though you can serve as the trustee who manages the trust during your lifetime, you must also appoint a successor trustee who will take over this role when you pass away.
On the other hand, if you create an irrevocable trust, you cannot revoke it or make changes to it during your lifetime. You must appoint a trustee other than yourself to manage it. This type of trust allows less flexibility and control of your assets than a revocable trust does.
However, not being in control of the trust comes with some advantages. For instance, any assets in an irrevocable trust cannot be seized by creditors since they technically don’t belong to you, offering asset protection. In addition, your tax liability will typically be lower than usual when you do not have access to the assets in your trust, so an irrevocable trust can save you money on taxes.
Your lawyer will help you choose between an irrevocable and revocable trust based on your estate planning goals. They can then determine if a specialty trust would be right for you. Some of the most common specialty trusts include:
- Special needs trust: This lets you set aside money for a disabled child or other family member so you can leave them considerable assets without causing them to surpass the income limits for government programs, such as Medi-Cal and SSI
- Charitable trust: This lets you leave a specified amount of money to your favorite charity and transfer your remaining assets to your beneficiaries
- Generation-skipping trust: Such a trust streamlines the process of transferring assets to your grandchildren while reducing your estate tax liability
- Qualified personal residence trust: This irrevocable trust lets you transfer your primary home into the trust while living in it for a specified period of time, after which the home will transfer to your beneficiaries
These are some examples of common trusts that might benefit you. If you want to learn about additional options for unique situations, contact our San Jose law firm to speak to knowledgeable trust attorneys.
What Is Trust Litigation?
While trust attorneys spend much of their time providing estate planning services to clients, they can also assist with trust litigation. This refers to a situation where the family of the deceased person has a legal dispute regarding how the trust has been handled. In most cases, their dispute involves the actions of the trustee during the trust administration process.
For example, a beneficiary might accuse the trustee of failing to meet the fiduciary duty they have in this role, as they’re supposed to consider the best interests of the beneficiaries when distributing trust assets. If you’re a trust beneficiary and believe the trustee mistakenly or purposely failed to adhere to California law regarding trusts, resulting in you not getting the assets you’re entitled to, trust litigation can help you hold the trustee accountable.
A California trust litigation lawyer can identify any duties the trustee ignored when administering the trust. Some examples can include failing to notify the beneficiaries of essential updates regarding the trust, forgetting to pay the bills associated with the estate, or fraudulently taking assets for themselves instead of distributing them according to the trust documents. If it’s clear the trustee hasn’t performed their duties, a San Jose trust litigation lawyer can petition the court to have them removed.
In some cases, trust litigation is necessary due to issues with the trust itself rather than the trustees. If you have evidence that the terms of your loved one’s trust were changed due to forgery, undue influence, fraud, or other issues, your trust litigation attorney can petition the court to terminate or invalidate the trust. Either way, a skilled trust litigation lawyer can assist with your trust dispute, so contact our San Jose law firm for legal representation before you prepare to go to court in Santa Clara County.
How Can San Jose Trust Lawyers Assist You?
Whether you’re interested in estate planning assistance or need legal guidance on trust and probate litigation, our San Jose attorneys are here for you. We’ve spent years helping clients navigate legal disputes involving probate, estate planning, trustees, wills, and more. We can provide the legal advice you need to resolve any issue you’re facing when it comes to dealing with estates.
While our attorneys spend a lot of time helping clients prevent future family conflicts through estate planning services, our team is also well-versed in litigating cases in the courtroom if a dispute does arise. So, if you’re ready to learn creative solutions to some of the most common legal disputes involving estates, you can rely on the attorneys at Trust Law Legacy Group, APC, for guidance. If you want to learn more about how initiating an attorney/client relationship with us can benefit you and your family, call 669-201-4368 to speak with a skilled probate litigation lawyer.