The most critical step in estate planning is the creation of a Living Trust.
What is a living trust?
A living trust is a legal document, or trust, established during a person’s lifetime where a designated person, the trustee, is given responsibility for managing that person’s assets for the benefit of the beneficiary. A living trust allows for the simple transfer of assets while bypassing the complex and expensive legal process of probate.
During your lifetime you are the Grantor and Trustee, and you name Beneficiaries to receive your assets upon your death. The Trust is revocable, meaning your can change it anytime you want during your lifetime. The Successor Trustee manages the Trust for you upon death, at which point the Trust become irrevocable.
You can find an attorney to prepare a Trust for around $2,000 or you can follow my DIY steps below to create a California Living Trust for $130. You can also later have an attorney review your Trust for a lesser fee.
My 3 simple steps to creating a California living trust
- Purchase Nolo’s Quicken WillMaker & Trust software. I purchased my copy at Costco for $89.99.
2. Create your Living Trust & Certification of Trust using the Nolo software. The program is very intuitive and it took me about 1 hour. Take a printed copy to a notary and get the Trust document notarized. I went to the local UPS store for notary services. Cost is roughly $20.
3. Transfer your real estate to the Trust using a quit claim deed form. I downloaded one for free at the local country recorder. Notarize the form and file it at your local county recorder. The filing fee was $18.