A Living Trust Protects Those You Care About and Preserves Your Property As You Intended

        What would happen if you died or became incapacitated tomorrow?
​           Estate planning is about protecting those who matter most to you and sparing loved ones from abrupt decisions, mistakes and court delays in the event you pass on or become incapacitated. Plan now to provide    for your family, keep your autonomy, and preserve the financial foundation you worked to achieve.
        My typical estate plan for a married couple includes the following:

•  Revocable Living Trust
• Trust Schedule
• Declaration of Trust
• Certificate of Trust
• Pour-Over Will (x2)
• Assignment of Personal Property
• Personal Property Memorandum
• ​ Power of Attorney (x2)
• Advance Healthcare Directive (x2)
• HIPAA Waiver (x2)
• Final Disposition Instructions
• (1) Quitclaim Deed

           Incapacity is a term associated with someone who is permanently or temporarily unable to make legal decisions.  If you become incapacitated, you cannot legally sell or refinance your own property or even withdraw funds from your own bank account unless someone signs for you. 
             If you have not adequately planned    in advance, only an agent of the probate court may sign for you.  

The Difference Between a Revocable Living Trust and a Will

A revocable living trust includes the details and instructions for how you want your estate to be handled at your death, and it   appoints a successor    who will be in charge of your estate upon your death.  But unlike a will, a   properly funded trust    provides the following benefits:

1. Flexibility and Control – As the “Trustor,” “Trustee” and the lifetime “Beneficiary” of your own trust, you retain full and complete control over all your assets during your lifetime.  Upon your death, the assets in the trust are managed and distributed according to your desires written in the trust document.  Your trust should be designed and customized to meet YOUR needs.  The revocable living trust gives you control over the assets you leave to your minor children, grandchildren or other beneficiaries who you might not want to receive their inheritance right away (including special needs beneficiaries or financially irresponsible beneficiaries).
2. Avoidance of Probate – Assets titled in the name of the revocable living trust at the date of death are not subject to probate administration.  This avoids thousands of dollars in executor fees and attorneys’ fees, not to mention a possible one or two-year delay for your family while the estate assets are tied up in probate.
3. Planning for Incapacity – If you become disabled or simply desire to be free of the worries of day-to-day asset management, the revocable living trust designates a “Successor Trustee” who can step in to manage your financial affairs without the necessity of going to court to have a conservator appointed (which is, again, a very costly, public and slow process).
4. Continuity of Asset Management Upon Death – Upon your death (or the death of the surviving spouse), the Successor Trustee automatically steps in and begins to manage the estate without the delay or “red tape” associated with probated estates.
5. Privacy – Revocable living trusts offer privacy as to who inherits the estate, when they receive it and how much they receive.

What is Probate?

Probate is a court supervised process to settle the estate of someone who died (called a decedent).  This usually entails proving the validity of the decedent’s will, appointing a personal representative, providing notice to creditors and potential heirs, gathering and accounting for the assets of the estate, paying all valid creditors, and then distributing the remaining balance to the estate’s beneficiaries.
It can be especially difficult for the survivors after having lost a loved one.  Probate can also be a costly process, involving court fees, commissions to the personal representative, attorney’s fees, and, in some cases, appraiser’s and guardian ad litem’s fees.​

Set up a
​Special Needs Trust

Assets can be held in a special type of trust called a “Special Needs” or “Supplemental Needs” Trust for a recipient of SSI, Medicaid and other needs-based benefit programs, as long as certain requirements are met. With the proper planning, a disabled beneficiary will be able to maintain his or her lifestyle, and the property in the trust  will be controlled and overseen by trusted individuals who you select (rather than judges and attorneys who are unacquainted with the beneficiary's needs).
David Geffen can help you set up a Special Needs Trust so that   government benefit eligibility    is preserved while at the same time the BENEFICIARY can receive sufficient assets to meet his or her supplemental needs (those that go beyond food, shelter, clothing and medical care). A properly drafted Special Needs Trust can fund those additional needs. In fact, the Special Needs Trust must be designed specifically to supplement, not replace, public benefits. Otherwise, the government could attempt to seize the trust assets for repayment of services already provided or determine that the SELF FUNDED BENEFICIARY or the special needs child does not qualify for future benefits.
The Special Needs Trust can be used for a variety of life-enhancing expenditures without compromising eligibility for benefits. 

Trusts Maintain Your Privacy   and   Avoid  Probate

Documents that go through probate, including wills, become public record. Living trusts do not go through probate. Therefore, absent some few exceptions, living trusts are not    made a matter of public record.
A    living trust does not get filed with the court., either before or after your death.   This  is   because a probate court will not be involved in supervising your trustee [the person you name in the trust document to handle the distribution of the trust assets]. Your trustee simply follows any instructions you wrote and doesn’t need to wait for validation or approval from any source, including a court.