patrick.net

nolo.com is excellent.

https://store.nolo.com/products/make-your-own-living-trust-litr.html/

HeadSet says

nolo.com is excellent.

https://store.nolo.com/products/make-your-own-living-trust-litr.html/

Thank you. I placed order for a used book via Ebay for 5 bucks!

That seems a bit dangerous to do yourself. Sure you don't want a revocable living trust. That seems more reasonable as changes can be made and assets moved in and out (like a house, etc..)

EBGuy says

That seems a bit dangerous to do yourself. Sure you don't want a revocable living trust. That seems more reasonable as changes can be made and assets moved in and out (like a house, etc..)

I like this idea. My goal is asset protection. What would be a better option in this situation?

gabbar,
Whose assets do you wish to protect, and from whom?

All retirement accounts, IRAs, 401K, and Variable Annuity assets are immune from civil judgement.

Another idea to protect assets is to buy insurance. We do this already for cars and houses.

You can have a huge personal lilability "umbrella" policy if you are engaging in things which can get you sued.

Doctors buy malpractice insurance.

I don't like the idea of anything that is "irrevocable" because it's permanent.

What is the recommended product if you only have a house and a few retirement accts to leave the kids? My mother is being talked into a trust but I dont think she really needs it.

clambo says

gabbar,
Whose assets do you wish to protect, and from whom?

All retirement accounts, IRAs, 401K, and Variable Annuity assets are immune from civil judgement.

Another idea to protect assets is to buy insurance. We do this already for cars and houses.

You can have a huge personal lilability "umbrella" policy if you are engaging in things which can get you sued.

Doctors buy malpractice insurance.

I don't like the idea of anything that is "irrevocable" because it's permanent.

As a landlord with multiple properties, I have been going the umbrella policy route. It is VERY affordable.Full recommend

Redstar,
A trust is sometimes unnecessary.
In your mother's case, for financial accounts she could simply make a list of beneficiaries and % to each person she wishes. This form for non-retirement accounts is called Transfer On Death (TOD).
But, she should probably have a person named to assist in case of limited capacity; it's possible for example she were incapable of making a phone call or doing a transaction online.
I think I was called my father's "agent" at Vanguard.
I was not made capable of choosing his beneficiaries, but I was able to make requests for money, or change investments, etc.

I read that a trust is necessary for the time when you get sick and they come after your assets. I think people want to pass assets to their children and not let nursing homes take those assets.

gabbar says

I read that a trust is necessary for the time when you get sick and they come after your assets. I think people want to pass assets to their children and not let nursing homes take those assets.

My mother has decided to retire to the old country and wants to die there. I doubt I will be inheriting anything but her house and 401k for which I am already the beneficiary. Pretty sure her extended family there will steal all her cash before it ever gets to me, Just don't see the need for a $$ trust when a simple will should do?

RedStar says

I doubt I will be inheriting anything but her house and 401k for which I am already the beneficiary. Pretty sure her extended family there will steal all her cash before it ever gets to me, Just don't see the need for a $$ trust when a simple will should do?

You want to avoid probate court by any means necessary. A NOLO revocable living trust using their forms is better than a will. YMMV.
IANAL. Not legal advice.

If you inherit house n 401k, it will be taxed as income, I belive u can take it over 10 years. Trust helps you reduce tax

I think this article is a fairly good overview and discusses various tradeoffs.
Ask an Advisor: Can a Nursing Home ‘Take Our IRA?' My Wife and I Are Elderly. We Have a $100K IRA and a Trust to Protect Our Assets.
The idea is to make yourself less wealthy on paper to qualify for Medicaid without actually giving away your assets.
If this sounds tricky, that's because it often is. For one thing, many states use a five-year lookback period when determining Medicaid eligibility. This means that if you do any fancy asset-shuffling in the five years before applying, your efforts will have been in vain.
...
Putting your money into a Medicaid asset protection trust (MAPT) effectively hands it over to someone else, so it is technically no longer yours and does not count against your Medicaid eligibility. Just remember that the handoff must be completed five years before you go on Medicaid.
...
A middle-ground solution [could] be the best course of action. Something like LTC insurance or an "aging-in-place" strategy may not completely protect your assets from long-term care costs. But such an option could reduce those costs while still providing the care that preserves your quality of life.
Remember, the point of saving money is ultimately for your well-being and that of your loved ones – not just to save it for its own sake.

EBGuy says

Remember, the point of saving money is ultimately for your well-being and that of your loved ones – not just to save it for its own sake.

It's a mindset thing. I expect my two kids to just make it. Protecting assets via trusts are really only for very, very wealthy people. If you fly, it's the oxygen mask theory. Make sure you're taken care of then help the kids. You have to feed and cloth them in the meantime. People that throw money into college funds and are living paycheck to paycheck are morons.

Depending when you had kids, I'm going to use mine as an example 10 & 12 and I'm about to be 40. I will not give them a single penny until my wife and I have $3M. I'm not locking up my money in a trust for the kids. Now if by some miracle we get to $5-10M then I'd look into trusts.

I also don't think money handed to you is a good thing. Turned my MIL into an alcoholic. Her dad worked for Walgreens and got paid okay, but got stock as a benefit. Had no clue what he was fucking doing as he was a drunk. Retires and had $4M and this was 20 years ago. I don't think he was being paid more than $50k before he retired.

What is the purpose of the trust really should be the question. If it's for kids make sure you KNOW you have enough for yourself to live to 100. You might need that money and your kids might not have enough to take care of you.

EBGuy points out the Medicaid point. There are various reason to do it. As selfish as it sounds, make sure you take care of you first before doing anything long term that might be hard to unwind.