Do You Need A Lawyer To Administer A Trust?
Video Summary
Do you need a lawyer to administer a trust?
This usually comes up whenever we have a person who sets up a revocable trust for the purposes of avoiding probate, and when they pass away, they designate someone as the successor trustee. So, the successor trustee then becomes the owner of the, or entitled to the property that’s held in the trust, and they can take care of distributing the assets to the various beneficiaries. Whether or not the person needs or should have an attorney depends on the complexity of the trust.
A trust, once the person who set it up passes away, is supposed to obtain a federal identification number, because it then becomes a separate tax-paying entity. And so that, whenever any income comes in, it’s not taxed to the successor taxee under their individual social security number. There can be, also, questions, if this is an ongoing trust, as far as what duties you owe to the various beneficiaries.
Under the Florida statute, a successor trustee is to send or notify the beneficiaries of the trust, and that they are beneficiaries. They also should serve upon them an inventory, letting them know what assets are in the trust. And, further, if it’s an ongoing trust, or takes some time to administer, they should send out an annual accounting, giving the beneficiaries notice that if they have any complaints about how the trustee is handling the finances of the trust, they have six months in which to object.
One of the most often asked questions of the successor trustee _____ is, “What do I have to do as far as paying the creditors of the deceased settler, or the person who set up the trust?” This is somewhat problematic, in that there may not be a probate proceeding, and the trustee would be responsible for paying those bills. A notice of trust should be filed with the clerk of the court.
The question is, “Well, should I make distribution of all these assets? And then, what happens if a bill comes in?” Well, that is a real problem, as far as giving the successor trustee a definitive answer, in that the creditors can file claims or sue the estate and trust up to two years after the person’s death. So, it’s important to understand who the creditors are, and do a reasonable search to determine the ascertainable creditors.
The other issue is filing a fiduciary tax return – that is, a tax return by the trustee that reports whatever income has come in, and then sending out the notice to the beneficiaries of how much they must pay in taxes. So all of these are matters that need to be addressed, whenever you become a successor trustee, and it’s usually sometimes not within the successor trustee’s expertise, if they are not a professional trustee, in order to do that.
So, it may be wise to consult with an attorney, and discuss with them whatever trust that you may be the successor trustee, to determine just exactly what you need to do, and whether or not you need to engage the services of the attorney. As far as the administration of the trust, so you do not become personally liable for any of the debts, and be protected as far as the beneficiaries are concerned.
If you’d like some advice, or set up an appointment to discuss administration of a trust, well, give me a call, at 727-847-2288.
Mr. Waller – What Do You Like About Being A Lawyer?
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What do I like about being a lawyer?
Well, I guess the thing that I like the best is helping people. And I meet good people, when they come to see me, and I get to know them. And we have a mission statement, here, which hopefully represents our firm. And it’s two words – it says: we care.
And I really do care about the people that come to see me, that engage my services to try and help them. And I try and tell them what the law is, but I also try and take a practical approach to whatever their problems or questions they may have. Many times, there is not a legal solution to their problem, and so, I try and come up with some alternative suggestions on how to try and resolve the matter. Many times it’s neighbors problems, or it’s family problems, or whatever, and so I try and listen, and be empathetic, and care, although many times I’ll tell them that there’s not a good legal solution to the problem.
And, also, as far as dealing with legal problems, is to make sure that I don’t do any harm to the client. And, also, that if they come to me with an $8,000.0 problem, that that’s what their damages are, that I don’t wind up charging them, you know, $5,000.00, $6,000.00, $7,000.00, to solve the problem. So, after litigation’s all done and over with, and they get their money, well, then, they turn around and they pay me all the money, and they’ve gone through all this aggravation, in order to simply pay their lawyer to resolve the issue.
Also, I caution people about not suing based upon the principle of the matter, and the principle is very expensive. And probably after they’re paying me a huge amount of money over the principle of the matter, that they sort of forget what they told me to begin with, it didn’t matter how much it costs them – it usually does. But I enjoy chatting with folks, and sometimes I think I’m pretty funny, so, particularly if they laugh at my jokes, well, I usually get along very well with the folks.
And so, I just like, you know, being a lawyer, and seeing if I can’t solve problems. Particularly when it comes to real estate issues, whenever I try to clear up a title, or figure out how to do something, and I can figure out how to do it, maybe when someone else hasn’t been able to do it. So, like, a treasure hunt, trying to find folks, or to come up with the law is, or to figure out how to do something.
So, I just like being a lawyer, and dealing with folks, and hopefully do a pretty good job as far as whatever people hire me to do, and in the cases that I undertake. So, hopefully if you have any real estate issues, or probate issues, or trust, give me a call, and I’ll be glad to chat with you. And talk to me over the telephone, and then if I think it’s something I can help you with, well, I’ll set you up an appointment, and we can talk about what it’s gonna take to get the job done. Give me a call at 727-847-2288.
Should A Parent Put Their Child On A Deed To Avoid Probate?
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Should a parent place their child on a deed, in order to avoid probate?
I get this question asked me probably once a week, or once every two weeks. And the answer is, I do not recommend that you place a child on your deed. Particularly if it’s the deed to your home, since your home is homestead, and that has particular status. By having the property as your homestead, it’s not considered as an asset, if you need to qualify for Medicaid purposes.
You don’t want to have conveyed that, ’cause there could be some issue of whether or not you transferred the property without full and fair consideration, as far as Medicaid’s concerned. Also, if you add a child’s name to your homestead property, they will not get what they call a step up in basis or an increase in the basis, as far as the property, whenever you pass away. And they may have to pay, and they sell the property, well, then, their basis is what you paid for it, particularly if you owned it for some time.
Also, if you sell the property during your lifetime, and you’ve added a child’s name to it, you can exempt up to $250,000.00 of gain, if you’ve lived in your home two out of the past five years. Whereas, the child who is on there hasn’t lived there, so they may have to pay taxes. So, that’s another reason not to do it.
Also, if it’s your home, and as homestead, if your child would have some kind of credit problems, or domestic problems, they’re half owner of your property. And if Capital One comes and sues them under their credit card, and they get a judgment, it may attach to a half interest in your home. And we wouldn’t want that to be a you be a co-owner with Capital One, as far as your home is concerned. That’s a little bit of a reach, but anyway, they could levy on the child’s one-half interest on the house.
What I’ve found very effectively to use, rather than adding a child to the title to your property, is to execute an enhanced life estate deed. And many people have heard of this as a nicknamed a “ladybird deed,” which basically leaves the property and the person’s name, the parent’s name, during their lifetime. So that they can sell the property, do whatever they want to with the property, and the child doesn’t have to have any interest in the property during their lifetime. And if the parent still owns the property at the time of their death, well, then, it’ll automatically pass to their child, and all the child needs to do is file a death certificate.
So if you would like to avoid probate, and have your property pass to a child, or your children, give me a call at 727-847-2288. Thank you.
When Do You Use A Quitclaim Deed?
Video Summary
When do you use a quitclaim deed?
Well, primarily, you use quitclaim deeds to clear up any questionable title issues, when it comes to real estate. The quitclaim deed says that I convey to you whatever interest I may have in the property. Whether you’re not saying that you own anything, or if you do own anything, you’re conveying it to the other party. This is contrasted or different than a warranty deed, and as with warranties, you’re saying, “I’m conveying to you good title to this property.”
So, usually, the quitclaim deeds are used whenever you simply wanna clear up title, or someone is gifting you something, and they don’t know if there’s any liens on it, or just what interest they have on the property. But they’re willing to give you their interest in the property, and many times there’s no consideration for. I caution you, though, if you’re purchasing property, or paying somebody for property, I would not suggest you agree to take a quitclaim deed.
In any real estate transaction, I suggest that you have a contract, and have a title search done on the property, so that you don’t get taken. So you don’t wind up with a piece of property that the person did not own, or that there may be a lot of mortgages on the property. And that way, you can have the title checked out, and it’s not all that expensive to do, particularly with your spending thousands to spend hundreds to determine whether or not there are any liens on the property, and exactly what you’re getting.
So, a quitclaim deed is basically the conveyance of property of any interest in property that a person may have, and they’re saying, “I’m not saying I own any interest in the property, but if I do have an interest in the property, I’m conveying it to you.” The deed does have to be signed in the presence of two different witnesses, and acknowledged by notary public to be effective. And documentary stamps need to be placed on the quitclaim deed for the amount of the consideration. Or if there’s a mortgage on the property, you need to put documentary stamps on’em, also, based upon the amount of the mortgage.
If you have any questions about a real estate transaction, the use of a quitclaim deed, give me a call at 727-847-2288.
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