On Thu, 24 Jun 2010 13:25:44 -0500, Janet Wilder
> wrote:

>
>> 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?

Well obviously your dentist removed all your wisdom teeth.