Full Description

Did you know that the government may be able to take nearly half of the assets you leave your family?
Did you know that your family could have to wait to access the funds you saved for them?

A Living Trust can do so much more than a will to ensure that money is not lost or wasted, to keep your family out of court and to keep creditors away. Let The Complete Living Trust Kit teach you all the advantages a Living Trust offers.

A Living Trust is inexpensive to create, easy to maintain and:

limits creditor claims
ensures privacy
prevents unintended disinheritance
minimizes emotional stress on family
directs timely distribution of assets
avoids probate and ancillary probate administration
permits flexibility
is difficult to contest
maintains continuation of business
controls assets during incapacity
provides a guardianship alternative
allows for continuity of asset management and income flow

Table of Contents

Using Self-Help Law Books -

Introduction -

Chapter 1: Probate:The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly -
Understanding the Probate Process
Understanding when Probate is Necessary
Property Subject to Probate
The Role of Your Will in the Probate Process
Disadvantages of Probate
Advantages of Probate
Conclusion

Chapter 2: Probate Alternatives and Beneficiary Designations:
- Side Stepping the Probate Process -
Benefits of Probate Alternatives
Dangers of Probate Alternatives
Methods of Holding Title to Assets
Community Property
Transfers of Property by Contract
Gifts

Chapter 3: Estate and Inheritance Taxes:
-Is Uncle Sam a Beneficiary of Your Estate? -
Federal Estate Tax
Planning to Reduce Your Estate Tax Burden

Chapter 4: Living Trusts:The Nuts and Bolts -
Trusts
Trust Types
Parties to a Trust
Living Trust Advantages
Living Trust Disadvantages

Chapter 5: Your Assets:What Do You Have and How Much Do You Have? -
Calculating Your Net Worth
The Worksheet
Identify Your Assets
Retirement/Employment Related Plans
Identify Your Liabilities
Calculate Your Net Worth
Net Worth Worksheet
Net Worth Summary
Personal Contacts Worksheet

Chapter 6: Creating Your Living Trust:Putting It All into Action -
The Trustee
The Beneficiaries
Executing Your Living Trust
Amending the Living Trust
Revocation of the Living Trust

Chapter 7: Funding Your Living Trust:If You’ve Got It, Fund It! -
Deciding which Property to Transfer
Title
Taxpayer Identification Number
Asset Ownership
Transferring Assets to Your Living Trust
Living Trust Recordkeeping

Chapter 8: Estate Tax and Probate Savings of Living Trusts:
You Earn It, You Keep It! -
I Love You Wills
Case Studies
Estate Tax Planning with Living Trust
Family Trust Appreciation
Guardianships—the Living Probate

Chapter 9: Ancillary Documents to Avoid Living Probate:
-Complete Your Planning with All the Documents You Need -
Powers of Attorney—Guardianship Alternatives
Declaration of Guardian in Advance of Need
Designation of Guardian for Minor Children

Chapter 10: Administration of Your Living Trust after Your Death:
-The Final Steps -
Obtain Death Certificates
Gather Personal Information
Contact Social Security Administration
Safe Deposit Box
Obtain Tax Identification Number for Trust
Contact Life Insurance Companies
Inventory Assets
Identify Debts of Decedent
Final Income Tax Return
Trust Income Tax Returns
Distribution of Assets to Beneficiaries

Epilogue -

Glossary -

Appendix A: Tax Explanations and Charts -

Appendix B: State-by-State Laws -

Appendix C: The Design of the Forms -

Appendix D: Blank Forms -

Index -

About the Author

Excerpt

How to Calculate Your Net Worth

Excerpted from Complete Living Trust Kit by Karen Ann Rolcik ©2007


Identify Your Assets
Your most recent tax return can be a very valuable resource in identifying your assets and liabilities. Copies of W-2s, Form 1099s, and Schedule K-1s are excellent reminders of assets you may have forgotten about. These documents will, in turn, lead you to such things as brokerage statements, bank statements, royalty statements, and loan interest summaries.

Investments—Marketable Securities
Stocks, bonds (including US savings bonds), mutual funds, United States Treasury bills and notes, and certificates of deposits should be included in the “Investments” section of the Inventory. Each investment should be listed individually, with a total for each category of investment. Brokerage statements, 1099-INT forms, and 1099-DIV forms are excellent resources from which detailed information can be obtained. Of course, the value of marketable securities fluctuates daily. You should use the most recent value available. The Inventory contains lines where you can list the dates on which you acquired the investment and the initial cost of the investment. This information will be useful in the future for calculating capital gains or losses when the investment is sold.

Cash
Cash and cash equivalents include your checking and savings accounts, money market funds, share accounts at credit unions, and similar accounts.

Retirement /Employment Related Plans
Retirement plans include employer-sponsored pension or profit-sharing plans, 401(k) (company savings) plans, Keogh or Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) programs, IRAs, deferred compensation plans, and employee stock option plans (ESOPs).

Real Estate
Real estate includes your home, vacation home(s), and any investment real estate, such as rental properties or apartments. If you have not had an appraisal or market analysis of your real estate done within the past two years, you can use property tax statements as a guide. Property tax statements often understate the market value of the real estate. A general rule is to increase the property tax value by 10% to obtain an estimated market value of your property. However, check with your county tax assessor’s office to determine how it calculates property values.

Of course, if you have made significant improvements to your real estate, such as room additions, remodeling, or upgrades, you should take the same into account. Remodeling and improvements do not increase the value of the property on a dollar-for-dollar basis. To avoid overstating the value, increase the market value by 75% of the cost of the remodeling and improvements. For instance, if you spent $3,000 to put ceramic tile in your kitchen, $3,000 to remodel your bathroom, and $5,000 to replace your windows, you should increase the value of your real estate by $7,500, instead of $10,000.

Life Insurance
Many life insurance policies do not have a cash value. Individual term and group term life insurance policies only provide a death benefit.While the death benefits of these policies do not affect your net worth, the death benefit increases the value of your estate for estate and inheritance tax purposes. Remember, credit life insurance benefits decrease as the outstanding balance of
the loan decreases.

Whole, universal, and variable life policies have a cash value. This cash value should be included on the Inventory. In addition, if you have taken loans against the policy, the loan should be taken into account in determining the net cash value of the policy.

Business Interests
If you own interest in a business, include the value of your ownership interest. This may be the value of common stock in a corporation, units in a limited liability company, or general or limited partnership interests in a limited partnership. If you operate an unincorporated business, such as a sole proprietorship, general partnership, or joint venture, include the value of your share of the net worth of the business.

Personal Property
Personal property includes furniture, household goods, automobiles, recreational vehicles (motor homes, boats, ATVs, etc.), clothing, furs, jewelry, tools, artwork, antiques, collectibles, and many other items. If you have items that are separately listed on your homeowners insurance policy—such as jewelry, artwork, or antiques—or for which you have a separate insurance policy, use the value for which you have these items insured.

Miscellaneous Assets
Promissory notes, annuities, oil and gas royalties, leasehold interests, and investments in commodities (including gold and silver) should be listed in this section.

Identify Your Liabilities
Many attorneys and financial planners calculate net worth without regard to most debts and liabilities owed by their client. Typically, the only debts that are taken into account are mortgages on real estate. Such an omission can significantly overstate a client’s net worth. For example, many people have student loan obligations that exceed $50,000. Credit card debt can often exceed the amount of a car loan. In addition, personal loans—whether secured or unsecured—can be significant.

Calculate Your Net Worth
Now that you have identified your assets and liabilities, subtract the amount of your liabilities from the value of your assets in order to determine your net worth. Keep in mind that your net worth will fluctuate almost daily. This reflects things like the change in the value of your investments and the reduction in loan obligations.

The process of determining your net worth gives you insight as to the type of living trust you should establish. As time passes and your financial situation changes, you will need to revisit your net worth, and if necessary, update your living trust to reflect your new financial position. For example, when you first read this book, you may determine that your net worth does not support a living trust that includes estate tax planning. As time goes by and the value of your estate increases, you may need to revise your living trust to include such planning.

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal
"A living trust is a mechanism used in estate planning to avoid the probate
process in the event of the death or incapacitation of the grantor of the
trust. Attorney Rolcik (How To Probate and Settle an Estate in Texas), an
expert in estate practice, has produced a workbook for those who want to
understand and create their own living trust. She explains the probate
process and its alternatives in straightforward language and then reviews
both the benefits of a living trust and the process for creating the
document that sets it up. Funding the trust, understanding estate tax
implications, and administering the trust after death are also covered.
Numerous worksheets and a decent glossary round out the text. This work is
comparable to Denis Clifford’s revised and updated Make Your Own Living
Trust, which includes tear-out forms, a CD-ROM with fill-in forms, and
Nolo’s always accessible explanations and illustrations. Libraries with
self-help estate and trust collections should consider one of these titles,
as they reflect recent legislative changes that affect planning devices.
Recommended for most public libraries."

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