Living Trusts Article in USA Today quotes NC Attorney General

The article contains a statement from Mary Randolph, author of The Executor’s Guide, that a lawyer will need about 10 hours to draft a living trust, so that at $150 an hour, the cost will be $1,500 for the trust and accompanying will.

 Many estate planning attorneys charge a flat fee for preparing an estate plan, and the author neglected to mention the other documents that should be included in a complete estate plan – Durble General Power of Attorney, Health Care Power of Attorney, Living Will, and HIPAA Authorization.  In addition, most qualified estate planning attorneys probably charge significantly more than $150 an hour.  While all of my estate plans are done on a flat fee basis, my own hourly rate is $295.

 The article quotes North Carolina’s attorney general, Roy Cooper – “We’ve received numerous complaints about the pushy sales tactics of scam artists selling living trusts.  They offer a free seminar or a free lunch, and then scare them about high probate costs and the frustration of settling an estate.”

What the article fails to say is that very rarely are these “scam artists” attorneys.  Usually they are fly-by-night companies that sell generic fill-in-the blank forms, or annuity salespeople.  See my post Living Trust Scammers Booted out of NC.

 While the author does encourage people who think they need a living trust to go see a trustworthy lawyer, he also says that those who have modest estates and think probate costs will not be onerous probably don’t need a living trust.  He then goes on to advise people to consider “transfer on death” (TOD) accounts.

My view is that no one should decide for themselves whether a will or living trust is most appropriate, and should not use TOD accounts without being fully informed about their advantages and disadvantages.  A qualified estate planning attorney should be consulted in both cases.