Living Trust Schemes and Probate Myths
I don't know what consumeraffairs.com is, but yesterday they put up an interesting post about Pennsylvania's attempt to crack down on living trust schemes (it's available here). These schemes often involve attempts to sell (most older) people high-priced estate planning documents and annuity products. (Unfortunately, consumeraffairs.com's affiliation with Google means that the page on which this article appears features ads from... people selling living trust schemes. Ouch!)
The sales pitches for these schemes usually involve a lot of wild comments about the evils of probate, and how it must be avoided at all costs. Unfortunately, as Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss reports today on her You and Yours Blawg, myths about probate aren't limited to scammers -- even mainstream newspapers sometimes get into the act.
Living trusts can do a lot of nice things, but they are not for everyone. What I try to do here and when I meet with clients is to discuss thoroughly the positives and negatives of living trusts and simple Wills.
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