Why a Living Trust?

Introduction

A Forewarning

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17

Why a Living Trusts : A Final Word: Be Very Careful Who You Listen To

The Misinformation Grapevine
We hear it every day. My neighbor told me this, my friend told me that, my banker, my broker, my golf buddy, my spouse, my son, my nephew, my real estate agent, my title company, some seminar, some book, some radio show, some financial advisor, sometimes even a (non-estate) lawyer -- all said this or that -- who heard it from Tom, who heard it from Mary, who heard it from John. As estate lawyers, every day we roll our eyes and shake our heads in disbelief that someone could have said something so unbelievably misleading, inaccurate, or wrong -- or how the advice otherwise failed to address the other consequences or dangers of some course of action. It would be laughable except for the tragic and expensive consequence that people accept such misinformation as “gospel” truth and advice.

Odds Are The Person Handing Out The Advice Is No Expert & Following It Is A Mistake
No matter what the reason is, the results and the moral of the story are the same. You need to be very, very careful who you listen to and take advice from. We have all heard the saying that a little bit of knowledge can be dangerous – and it is a saying that is especially applicable here. Don’t follow misguided advice handed out by those with a very poor, limited, or one-dimensional grasp of the subject matter. And if you want to do things right and avoid becoming the victim of an ill-advised move, sometimes this also means being careful of yourself. It takes a great deal of full-time experience, as well as extensive education in multiple disciplines and areas of the law to understand the all around picture and become truly qualified to hand out advice. Odds are that’s not your neighbor, nephew, or real estate agent.