Revocable Living Trust and attorney involvement after death of trust owner
Upon my death & with a RLT that includes all the ‘bells & whistles’ (aka, named successor trustee, POA for Health & Finances, Living Will, etc.), will the services of an attorney be needed again for the successor trustee to move forward with their responsibilities of asset distribution? I ask to be informed as to the inclusive cost of setting up a RLT.
Terry Says
Not in the same sense as if you had a will. With a will, an attorney is necessary to shepherd the estate through probate — a costly and time-consuming process. In the case of an RLT, it all depends on how sophisticated your named successor trustee is. He/she might want to ask the attorney’s advice about timing of distributions, filing of an estate tax return etc. So, yes, it’s a good idea to ask the attorney who creates the trust, if there will be additional fees to be paid by the estate after your death.
