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I think this is a fairly simple one. Widower needs an irrevocable trust
to put house in for eventual sale. 3 children as beneficiaries (one of them as trustee). No other assets other than house (paid for) need to go in. My hope is that this is a fairly straightforward version of such a trust. Does anyone have experience here? And perhaps an educated guess on what one would pay?


thank you!

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The cost varies depending on your state. My MIL paid $1250 in California and my parents paid $2500 in NV. First lawyer my parents contacted wanted $5k. Both trusts were straightforward irrevocable trusts, 2-3 beneficiaries, one house and no other assets to put in the trust.
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SaintPaul32 Mar 2020
Thank you very much. This is more in line with my sense of how much it would be based on a bit of internet research. Was this recently?
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If the estate is simple, it can cost nothing. He can check out or buy a "how to" book about trusts that are easy to read and simple. He can do it himself. When I read this book and wrote my own, it was important to me to hire an estate lawyer to review it to ensure it was correct for me and legal. That was almost 20 years ago, so I can't comment an amount for a review.

These "how to" books will explain the house needs to be "in" the trust, in other words he'll need a QuitClaim deed transferring the house from his name to the trust.

Side note: If the intent is to transfer the house after he passes to be quickly sold, then an easier method may be to get with the city/county government and ask about a Transfer on Death deed. With a death certificate, the property will transfer to the beneficiaries listed. Easy, peasy.
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needtowashhair Mar 2020
This is the 21st century. What's a book? ;)

You can buy or go to the library and borrow software from those popular tax software people that will generate trust paperwork for you. It's exactly like the tax preparation process where it asks you questions. Once the paperwork is made, you'll have to walk it through the signing and recording process.

But as you said, in this case with only a house a TOD would be much cheaper and easier.
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Our trust cost us $1500. I did most of the legwork and all the attorney did was input the info and have it notarized. He made a few suggestions of things we'd not thought to add.

VERY basic and no frills. Named our POA's and executrix and made that legal. As things change, we'll go back and do addendums, but so far, it's just peace of mind.
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We got 3 quotes. $1500 from a personal injury lawyer. $6000 from a certified elder law attorney. $3000 from a tax attorney. This was for a bare bones trust, nothing special.

We went with the certified elder law attorney thinking we would spend more to do it right and set up a relationship with the right type of attorney in case there are future elder law issues. If we had to do it again, we would go with the $1500 personal injury lawyer.
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SaintPaul32 Mar 2020
I'm looking at 4500.00 (Elder Law attorney). Includes trust and completing
VA pension application when he qualifies for it. So, I wasn't really too shocked at the price. I do like the lawyer, but just wanted to have some reference for what people pay. Thank you.
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SaintPaul, may I ask in what capacity you ask?  Your profile indicates you're caring for your mother who is living at home.    I checked your earlier posts and have the impression you're acting, or searching, on behalf of others outside your family.  

Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I'm wondering if you're acting in an individual, voluntary, or paid capacity.    Is this individual one of your parents?

As to this post, who made the determination that the widower needs an IT and not an LT?   If one of the children is already a Trustee, that infers there's a trust in existence.   Is this so?  

If there's only one asset, and no other income, what benefit arises from an IT as opposed to an LT?  

Once established, what would be needed is to retitle the home into the name of the trust, identifying who the Settlor, Trustee and Successor Trustee is/are.    A PourOver Will used to accompany an LT; I don't know if this is still the practice.

In terms of price, it depends on the complexity of the Trust, the transfers, ancillary documents (such as a Bill of Sale transferring other miscellaneous personal possessions), and especially the geographic location and the size and experience of the firm.

Since you haven't provided a location, it's impossible to guess what the cost would be.  You really have to identify potential firms to handle this, interview them and provide a list of what the Widower wants, as well as what your role is.  

And, w/o intent to challenge anyone else's advice, anyone who thinks trust preparation is easy or can be done through online forms, or books, doesn't really have a concept of how complex trusts can be.   

Do you have any idea how to update yourself on trust law?     Have you ever worked for law firms with estate planning practices?

If you disagree, download the IRA Form 1041, Instruction for Trusts, and try reading through it.    Even with only a house as an asset, there are a lot of complicating factors to understand.


In addition, why should this individual pay to have a VA application completed when one of the service organizations will do it for free?    This would be money spent needlessly.
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SaintPaul32 Mar 2020
Mother is deceased as of last month, so I'm trying to figure out what to do with my father's house, as he will move in with my sister. He will likely qualify for VA A+A when he needs it. House is only asset of value, so if we sell it, we need to put it in IT, to maintain eligibility. Though I may be capable, I do think an attorney completing what I believe is a fairly uncomplicated IT is best. And I like the one we most recently had a consultation with. I simply wanted to know what others have paid for similar services, rather than blindly sign on to the deal. It's Texas, btw.

Thank you.
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We paid $1500 last month for our own living trust with three properties put in it. For that price we also got powers of attorney, advance medical directives, and wills -- all very basic forms, really.

We used a trust and estate attorney. Don't use some other specialty, just do it correctly.

We're in California.
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We are also in Texas, and I know this is probably too late. but in Texas you can also do a Ladybird Deed on the house. It names a beneficiary who gets the house when dad passes but until then he retains full control. There are some lawful protections provided by one also. many attys will offer a free first consultation, take care
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