Query:  Does someone whose estate consists of little more than a house need a trust?
Conventional Wisdom: No.
My Answer: It depends. (This is my answer to almost every legal question.)

Some attorneys think a will-based plan is sufficient for almost everyone. Some attorneys think everyone needs a living trust. Still others apply a financial means test. The latter decree that "every estate worth more than X amount of dollars needs a living trust."  The corollary is that estates worth less than the threshold don't need a trust-based plan. ... << MORE >>

Our office is in the process of probating an estate of a woman who had very specific desires about her estate.  She had several specific devises, that is, she left specific items of real property to specific people. She also had at least three codicils to her will. A codicil is an amendment to a will. The original will is not re-done, but instead the codicil is attached so that read together the codicil changes the terms of the will that the person wanted to amend.

In the case of a living ... << MORE >>

An alternate title to this post might be: "The Law Can't Change Irrational People."  Upon reflection, the real problem is that there is little that will change irrational people.

Lately I've shared the frustration of several clients who are trying to do their best by family members but the relationships are strained by unreasonable demands. One client wants all of her siblings to feel good about the distribution of her mother's personal property, but her two brothers both want the same piece of furniture and insist that whomever does not receive it will ... << MORE >>

Wills Trusts and Estate Prof Blog reports on a Texas appellate court case in which a man referred to his wife's inheritance in two conflicting ways. In one place the man referred to his wife receiving everything "until she dies" and in the other he stated he leaves her all his property.

So -- which is it?  In life and in death the law doesn't generally allow you to give something to someone and then restrict what they do with it after ... << MORE >>

Business owners who want to keep key employees for business operations and to plan the owner’s business exit often turn to covenants not to compete (noncompetition agreements) to prevent employees from competing (including taking other employees or customers) after the employee leaves the company.
 
The major obstacles to these noncompetition agreements are:
    •   They are enforceable in limited circumstances because public policy disfavors restrictions upon one's ability to earn a living; and
   •   Employers worry that asking or requiring employees to enter into such an agreement will cause the ... << MORE >>

I found this article from Australia to offer an interesting estate planning comparison between the United States and Australia. The references to Australian gangsters was too unfamiliar to interest me, but I was struck by the conclusion that estate planning is on the rise but wills are on the decline. Wills are being replaced by trusts and other nonprobate devices. I think that's true here in the U.S. as well. That's why I don't put much stock in the news reports about some dead celebrity's will. Many ... << MORE >>

In 2003, Harvard Business School associate professor Connie Bagley came up with these Top 10 Legal Mistakes Made By Entrepreneurs . Some of these "mistakes" aren't mistakes at all if they are conscious choices, especially if you don't plan on seeking venture capital. However, I was pleased to see Mistake #3 -  "Starting a business while employed by a potential competitor, or hiring employees without first checking their agreements with the current employer and their knowledge of trade secrets."  While I disagree with the ... << MORE >>

Carter Ruml of KYEstates.com offers up a great summary of the facts and conclusions of the case of In Re Woods. This case involved a mortgage granted on property held in a joint revocable trust, i.e. a joint living trust. This case provides a lot of insights, including support for the claim of most ethical estate planners that most living trusts do nothing to protect your assets.

Don't get me wrong, ... << MORE >>

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Courts in Florida and Kentucky have concluded that bankruptcy laws that protect an IRA from creditors do not apply to inherited IRAs. An inherited IRA is just what it sounds like, an IRA established by someone else that you inherited when the original participant died. While the participant's IRA is often protected in the event of bankruptcy, there appears to be a trend against allowing those same protections for inherited IRAs. The inherited IRA can still be protected if the IRA is left to ... << MORE >>