After you have read the facts presented on this page contact me.

One of the most widely held misunderstandings about Revocable Living Trusts arises from statements that they are of value to only the very wealthy. That is a blatant misrepresentation. It is true that a properly structured trust may eliminate or substantially reduce federal estate taxes for individuals worth more than $12,060,000. the main reason to get a Revocable Living Trust is to avoid PROBATE, often an expensive, time-consuming, and agonizing process that currently costs Americans around $25 BILLION a year.

It took decades for abuses in the probate process to become widely realized. The matter was summed up by a famous consumer advocate: Ralph Nader, a lawyer himself, referred to probate as The screwing of the average corpse.

Henry W. Abts wrote The Living Trust, a detailed and masterful work published originally in 1989. It is referred to by many, including honorable estate-planning attorneys, as The Living Trust Bible. A devout practicing Christian, Henry learned of the probate problem while working as a financial advisor.

There are persons who smear Henry Abts (primarily lawyers who earn their living by writing Wills and who collect juicy fees for probate). Unsurprisingly, they refrain from providing substantive criticism of the book. Henry updated The Living Trust in 1993, 1997, and 2003. In the Preface to his book's final update and revision that courageous and caring man, after many years of experience, felt obliged to write the following:

As I traveled throughout the nation giving seminars on the power of the Living Trust and vital estate-preservation vehicles, I discovered the awesome clout wielded by many Will and Probate attorneys. I am convinced that they are willing to pay any price and go to any length - including the dissemination of misinformation even to their brethren - to protect their vested interests of $25 billion annually in probate fees taken at the expense of the general public.

What does probate really cost? Typically, probate fees are 4%-10% of your gross estate (the entire estate including liabilities). It is typical for estates to total $200k, 400k, 600k, and considerably more, especially if there is real-estate involved. Based on typical total probate fees of 4%-10%, probate costs amount to $8-$20k, $16k-$40k, $24k-$60k, and considerably more, respectively. The cost of a properly prepared Revocable Living Trust pales in comparison to such costs and simply makes good financial sense. The RLT circumvents probate's headaches, paperwork, delays, and publicity. There are also additional important features of a properly designed Revocable Living Trust.

I never cease to be amazed whenever intelligent people express their belief that the making of a Will (Last Will and Testament), or having been designated as an heir in someone's written Will, means that the estate of the deceased won't require probate. The truth is precisely the opposite. Probate is a legal process referred to by our lawyer friends as "proving the Will" to the satisfaction of a court. It is required if the pertinent assets (left with or without a Will) exceed a relatively low dollar amount ($75,000 for example, in Florida).

Does it make sense to work and save and plan and to then use a Will (Last Will and Testament) that requires one's heirs and, particularly, one's appointed Executor (Personal Representative), to go through the agonizing probate process and have a sizeable chunk of your family's assets siphoned off in the process?

There are attorneys, regardless of their exemplary ethics and other fine legal work who, when requested to draft a Revocable Living Trust, sometimes provide trusts that don't contain 222 must-have provisions. In addition, persons frequently wind up living with trusts that are not properly funded. Both problems can eventually land an estate into probate, precisely the situation the trust's grantors/trustees sought to avoid.

Affiliated attorneys obtain Revocable Living Trust documents from the company that Henry Abts established. To date, that company has finalized over 70,000 trusts.

Detailed and comprehensive, their trust documents have been developed through over 40 years of hands-on improvement by hundreds of attorneys throughout the United States resulting in thousands of satisfied clients. They are drafted to ensure accuracy with current state and federal laws, and are updated as changes occur. Those affiliated attorneys are an honor to the American legal profession. We are proud to work with this group.

AFTER DOING YOUR OWN RESEARCH, IF YOU HAVE MADE THE DECISION TO OBTAIN A REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST TOGETHER WITH THE FULL COMPLEMENT OF STATE-SPECIFIC ANCILLIARY DOCUMENTS, FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY:

If you reside in Florida: Call (941) 545-3600 - You might want to replace an existing written Last Will and Testament to avoid an inevitable probate, especially if there are significant assets involved. If you have an existing RLT, you might want to have it reviewed. Get information concerning retaining a Florida-licensed affiliated estate-planning attorney including the services and fees involved. If you are a licensed Florida attorney interested in broadening your practice and desirous of ethically servicing additional clients, give me a call.

If you reside in a state other than Florida: Call (800) 998-2523 and leave your name, your state, and city or town, along with the best phone number at which to contact you. Nationally, over 150 estate-planning attorneys are actively working with the group. We will do our best to locate those licensed in your state and provide you their contact information at no charge or obligation. The attorney's fee for a Revocable Living Trust may be somewhat greater in the states of South Carolina, Illinois, and Iowa. Those states require an attorney to be physically present at the time that Revocable Living Trust documents are executed (signed by the affiliated attorney's clients and notarized).