> Christine Dabney wrote:

>> The chaplain said that in CA, if you don't have a living trust, the
>> state will take a good portion of it. Don't know what other states
>> do.


I strongly suggest that you consider the chaplain to be correct in
matters other than estates and trusts. Not having a Living Trust, does
not escheat a "good portion" of your estate to the state of California.

The only time a state takes a decedent's assets is if the beneficiaries
can't be found and there is no will or the will has no provisions for
such a situation. The only time I have seen this happen when someone had
a will was when it was not professionally prepared.

A living trust avoids probate. Probate is *not* a tax or duty, it is a
process. A will goes through the probate process and some states require
high fees. If the estate is large enough, the state might require the
executor to do an accounting and this can be costly. Appraisals would
also be costly.

A living trust bypasses the probate process by distributing your
property outside of the jurisdiction of the state. Unless the property
placed in the trust is put there irrevocably, that means you can never
take it back once you fund the trust, it does not avoid taxation.

In states that have inheritance taxes on non-relatives or degrees of
relatives, the executor will have to file a tax document (some places
call them a return other places call them an "affidavit")and the
property in the living trust, unless it is irrevocable, will be subject
to taxation or duty. If the property is subject to tax or duty, the
taxing authority will require the appraisals, so it's not going to save
anything.

If your estate is very large and you live in a state that had a
difficult and expensive probate process, like Florida, you should
consider a Living Trust. It does not supersede having a Last Will and
Testament. Generally both documents work in conjunction with each other.

Please don't do anything until you have consulted an attorney who
specializes in such matters. It would be worth the consultation fee to
learn that you could be 1) throwing your money away getting all of these
documents drafted and executed and 2)having the consequences of the
documents (will and trust) not be what you want for those whom you want
to get your possessions.

You don't go to the dentist for brain surgery, do you?

(off the soap box for now :-))
--
Janet Wilder
Way-the-heck-south Texas
Spelling doesn't count. Cooking does.