Living Trust Attorney in West Hills

Living Trust Attorney in West Hills

Why a trust avoids probate is on the statewide living trust page. For West Hills families the more useful part of a trust is usually not probate avoidance at all. It is control over when and how younger people receive money.

Eighteen is the default, and almost nobody wants it

If a child or grandchild inherits without a trust, the money is held under court supervision and paid to them outright when they turn 18. That is the default the law supplies.

Asked directly, very few parents want a substantial sum going to an eighteen-year-old with no conditions and no guidance. A trust lets you set something else: staged distributions at 25, 30 and 35, or distributions for education, a first home or starting a business, or a trustee with discretion to give what is needed when it is needed.

There is no extra fee for drafting it that way. It is a conversation about what you actually want, and it takes about fifteen minutes.

Protecting the share after they receive it

The same drafting choice does something else worth understanding. A share handed to an adult child outright is exposed from that moment to their divorce, their creditors and any judgment against them.

The same share held in a properly drafted trust for that child is not. For a family passing property down through generations, that is frequently the most valuable line in the document, and it is available at the outset at no additional cost.

The document that names who raises your children

This one is regularly misunderstood. The nomination of a guardian of the person, meaning who raises your minor children if you and the other parent die, goes in your will, not your trust.

So a family that has a trust and assumes the will is a leftover formality has usually missed the single most important decision in the package. The pour-over will in an estate plan is where that nomination lives, and it should be read rather than filed unread.

What the engagement covers

Flat fee, quoted before anything starts: $4,100 for a married couple, $3,700 for a single person. That covers the trust, the pour-over will, durable powers of attorney, advance health care directives and the certification of trust, along with recording the deed into the trust.

The practice is remote. Meetings by phone or video, and for signing I arrange a notary and witnesses local to you, because California has not authorized remote online notarization for general use.

Questions West Hills clients ask

At what age should my children receive their share? That is your decision and a trust is what makes it possible. Common structures are staged distributions at 25, 30 and 35, or distributions tied to education, a first home or a business, or trustee discretion for needs as they arise. Without a trust the answer is 18, outright.

Where do I say who raises my children? In your will, not your trust. The nomination of a guardian of the person goes in the will, which is why the pour-over will in an estate plan is not a formality and should actually be read.

Can I protect an adult child’s inheritance from their divorce? Yes, by leaving it in a properly drafted trust for them rather than outright. It costs nothing extra at drafting and it is often the most valuable provision in the document.

What does it cost? $4,100 for a married couple, $3,700 for a single person, flat and quoted before work starts. A restatement of an existing trust is priced the same as a new one.

Do we have to come to an office? No. The work happens by phone and video, and I arrange a local notary and witnesses for signing.

Talk to Eric or call 805-244-5291. I serve West Hills and the surrounding San Fernando Valley communities.

For the statewide version, see living trusts in California and trust or will. If someone has already died and a minor is inheriting, see probate in West Hills.