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ur Estate Planning in Phoenix and Scottsdale is highly customized to meet your unique family situation, assets, values, and personal goals. Our complimentary first meeting allows
you to get to know Libby, our Estate Planning attorney and talk about your unique situation and what plan will best fit your needs. Remember, when you choose Libby you are not only hiring someone to prepare your Estate Plan, you are choosing a seasoned Estate Planning attorney to guide you through this often complex process and raise questions you might not have considered. You are choosing an experienced professional to create a plan that serves your family in the way that you want and, after you are gone, a trusted advisor that your loved ones can depend on.
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ESTATE PLANNING BASICS: THE REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST – PART ONE By Libby Banks The Law Office of Libby Banks, PLLC
P
eople often ask me how much money or what the threshold net worth is before they need a Revocable Living Trust. There is no magic number. The factors that go into the decision include family situation, types of assets, location of real property, and, yes, net worth. The next question I’m asked is, why have a Trust? THE REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST GIVES INSTRUCTIONS IF YOU ARE INCAPACITATED Both a Will and a Trust contain instructions for distributing your assets after you die. However, a Trust also contains your instructions for managing your assets if you become incapacitated. The Trust allows a successor you have chosen to step into your shoes to pay your bills, manage your assets, sell property if needed, and generally handle your financial affairs. The Trust makes it easy for someone to step in to assist when you need help. WITHOUT THE TRUST WE FILE FOR CONSERVATORSHIP Without a Trust, control over your finances may require a court proceeding known as a conservatorship. One attor-
ney I know who does these proceedings called conservatorships “cumbersome.” They are also quite costly…far more than the cost of creating a Trust. Money isn’t the only cost of conservatorship. Your family is asking the court to declare you incompetent. This takes a huge emotional toll on everyone. It takes time too, both to have the proceeding, and to make accountings to the court according to its rigorous guidelines. Last, the conservatorship is a very public affair. There are no locked doors in the courthouse on these. With the Trust, we maintain our privacy. We state in the Trust how and when it should be decided that we can no longer handle our affairs. THE BOTTOM LINE It is important to be sure someone can manage your affairs if you are incapacitated. The Trust is an ideal way to assure a smooth transition if you can no longer manage your affairs. To learn more, schedule a consultation or review by calling the office at 602-375-6752, or filling out our website form at www.libbybanks.com/scheduleestate-planning-meeting.
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Robert E. Pastor Tiffani E. Lucero 3200 N. Central Ave., Ste. 2550 Phoenix, Arizona 85012 602-279-8969 www.arizonasexualabuselawyer.com • www.mjpattorneys.com 24 • August/September 2019 • THE SCOTTSDALE STANDARD
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