Trust Services

This Trust allows the Grantor (the person making this Trust) to place money, property or other assets in the Trust. Upon the Grantor's death, the Trustee will use this money to pay for or reimburse the cost of caring for the pets. This money will be paid so long as those pets are living or money or assets are available to the Trust for that purpose. The Trust is drafted so that the Trustee of the Trust is the owner of the Grantor's pets. And the Grantor is also named as initial Trustee of this Trust. As such, so long as the Grantor is alive he or she will keep and provide care for the pets. Upon Grantor’s death or incapacity, the Grantor's pets will be given to a Beneficiary who will care for and look after the pets. This Trust can be used in conjunction with another Trust, a Last Will and Testament or other estate planning tool. This Trust is to be used only to provide for a mechanism to pay for the care of pets.

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The "Pour-Over” Will permits you, after you die, to transfer any assets that you did not transfer
to the Trust while you were alive. Carefully consider using this Will as an alternate method of
funding the Trust, as post-death transfers may have different consequences as compared to predeath
funding of the Trust. And funding a Trust with a Pour Over Will may require a probate
case being opened so that the Maker's assets can be transferred to the Trust.
This Pour-Over Will contains both a "self-authenticating" witness provision (allowing the Will to
be submitted to probate even if not notarized) as well as a notary provision.

An Advanced Health Care Directive allows you to clearly designate your long-term healthcare wishes, and to appoint one or two Agents who can inform your healthcare providers specifically about the kind of care you would like to have if you become unable to make medical decisions for yourself.

These healthcare decisions include: whether or not you wish to receive life-sustaining treatment when there is no hope for recovery; who your primary physician should be; who may speak to medical issues on your behalf if necessary; what healthcare decisions the person named can and cannot make; if you wish to reduce pain; if you wish to be kept alive by artificial means; if you should be resuscitated; and if you wish to donate your organs.

Joint trusts are easier to manage when both spouses are alive. The married couple is not required to divide up their assets into separate trusts.  Instead, the couple’s assets are simply transferred to the one joint trust, and the couple will continue to manage the assets essentially as they did prior to setting up the joint revocable living trust. This particular trust can be used by married couples whose property value (in total) does not exceed $10,000,000,* who want to provide income to themselves while both alive, then provide income to the surviving spouse, and then transfer property to their children after the death of the second spouse.   If the value of the spouses’ property exceeds the amount set forth above, they may wish to consider more advanced estate planning and take advantage of certain tax exemptions that exist.  In those situations where the value of the joint estate does not exceed $10,000,000, there are usually no significant federal estate tax issues or “tax needs” that need to be addressed, as the property will generally pass under the marital tax credit (although the laws concerning such credit are constantly changing – and individual situations may require more complicated estate planning).

Very similar to the trust described above, but designed for married couples who may or may not have children.  This trust allows the donor spouses to specifically name the beneficiaries who will receive the trust property after the death of the second spouse to die.  This particular trust works well for those spouses who do not have children or for those spouses that have children but who do not wish to leave any or all of their property to their children – and with this trust, the donors with children can choose to exclude any or all of their children from the beneficiary list, can leave only a part or portion of the trust estate to their children, or could name children and non-children alike as beneficiaries.  Like the other trusts offered, while the donors are alive they will receive income from the trust and have access to the assets of the trust. After the second donor dies, the income and/or property from the trust is paid to the beneficiaries that are named in the trust.

This Trust is for use by single persons (i.e. not married) whose estate (in total) is worth less than the federal estate tax exemption amount and who want to provide income to him or herself during his or her lifetime, and then transfer property to his or children and/or beneficiaries after his or her death so as to avoid probate issues. 

This Single Trust creates the trust as the legal entity that will be provided ownership of assets that you transfer to it (thereby avoiding most probate issues).  This document names you as both the Trust “Donor” (the person making the transfer of property to the Trust) as well as the "Trustee" (the person that administers and oversees the Trust).  By being both Donor and Trustee, you will retain the ability and flexibility to exercise management and control over the Trust’s property.   You, as the Donor will also nominate a "Successor Trustee" to succeed you upon your death or when you become incapacitated and cannot make decisions for yourself as the Trustee.  This document also permits you to list or name another alternate Successor Trustee as well.