Trust or not to Trust

sflabrkr wrote:
I'm buying an RV that I will fulltime in. I went to my attorney and talked to him about a trust.
I wanted the trust for asset protection in case I'm sued.
He didn't think I needed one for that.
I guess I'm confused as to what a trust is.
I know it keeps you out of Probate.
Can I set it up myself and have a family member be the trustee?
Stefan

1. I had a lawyer set up my Living Trust so in the event of my death all my assists,monies etc. will be distributed based on my wishes. This will all keep your estate out of probate and give your trustee immediate access to your trust in the event of your death and/or if a doctor determines that you no longer have the "mental capacity to make rational decisions". Use a "durable power of attorney" not a "springing power of attorney. Your lawyer will give you a legal explanation of the difference. When you set up your trustee(s) /executor be sure and list them in order of succession 1st., 2nd, 3rd. I also suggest that when you complete your Living Trust, that each family member immediatly receives a copy of the trust. This can avoid any potential future legal disagreements among family members. When ever there are issues of money, the potental for bringing out the worst in individual family members is always present.
I also recommend that you complete an Advance Health Care Directive (AHCD) immediately. This document is separate from your Living Trust which can be completed if you don't do complete a Living Trust. You can contact your local Ombudsman program or hospital and they will give you a copy. You can do this on your own or your local Ombudsman will do it for you at no charge. Make sure each family member has a copy. This avoids any potential problems/disagreements with family members regarding your wishes related to any end of life medical decisions about your life.


2, Talk with your financial advisor and he will set you up with an Liability Umbrella policy just to protect you against be sued. I have a 2 million dollar liability policy. This protects you if you are in a severe accident where someone dies for example and the party sues you beyond what your regular auto insurance covers.

I think it would would be much easier and simpler to just have your RV insured out the wa-zoo to cover any situation.

Under (non-full time scenarios), homeowners insurance will cover the contents of your camper (anything not anchored down or screwed down for loss or theft. Your automobile policy covers the vehicle while in transit (moving on the road), both property damage and liability. Your camper insurance covers any physical damage that may occur when unhitched, including acts of nature.

In the event of a dog bite, or someone falls on your campsite, and somehow you are found negligent (and not the campground), that would fall under homeowners insurance.

Apart from this, I (personally) don't see how you can much better protect your assets, unless you are referring to your investments, savings, and bank accounts. Unless you have greedy kids that somehow are attempting to declare you "nuts" and get you tossed into an a nut-house so they can sieze control of your money or some bizarre scenario like this, I don't see what "protection" is really needed, other than what you would normally do any other day of the week.

If you don't have any special financial protection now, why should it be any different full timing?

If you give your spouse 100% power of attorney over everything in your life, and your spouse gives you 100% power of attorney over everything in their life, I think you are pretty much "protected" against anyone attempting to intrude on your (financial) assets. Apart from this, I don't see any advantage for a "trust".

My wife has 4 trust funds set up for our grand kids. We are putting a small amount each week into the funds for them, so when they graduate high school, they will get the trust fund. Until then, they cannot touch it.

Trust funds are set up, as in wills sometimes, when the assets are put into a fund and a caretaker of the fund is appointed for the purpose of taking care of a surviving child.

Apart from these two types of examples, I don't know how a "trust" would help protect your assets.

Here again... I am no lawyer, and my life-experiences really means 'squat!' legally, but as someone stated above, if your own lawyer gave you advise and now you're turning here? Well ... maybe your just not listening to what everyone is saying. Sorry. I suggest you forget the idea of a "trust" and just get lots and lots of insurance!

jorbill2or wrote:
So your not happy with your attnys advice and are seeking legal advice on a RV board. Ok then , I'm not an attorney but I've heard of trusts being used for tax reasons but not lawsuit protection . Could you form a corporation ? That would protect you but not the coach. I guess I've never heard this concern before with anyone I know.

I'm not the smartest guy out there(product of a public school system) and I figured someone else can say it in words that I would understand better.
I have a corporation but as far as I understand since I have a professional license they can go after me as well.

So your not happy with your attnys advice and are seeking legal advice on a RV board. Ok then , I'm not an attorney but I've heard of trusts being used for tax reasons but not lawsuit protection . Could you form a corporation ? That would protect you but not the coach. I guess I've never heard this concern before with anyone I know.

sflabrkr wrote:
I'm buying an RV that I will fulltime in. I went to my attorney and talked to him about a trust.
I wanted the trust for asset protection in case I'm sued.
He didn't think I needed one for that.
I guess I'm confused as to what a trust is.
I know it keeps you out of Probate.
Can I set it up myself and have a family member be the trustee?
Stefan

Trusts are usually setup for tax purposes or to continue to exist after a person has passed away. There are such things as asset protection trusts, but their use is fairly specific (from what I understand). Usually when trying to use a trust to protect assets you aren't the beneficiary of the trust -- your wife or kids are. If you are a beneficiary of the trust (you receive funds from it), then it opens the door that the person suing you can sue the trust as well.

So, I can see that the attorney makes a point that setting up a trust may not solve the goal of not being sued. People really don't need to have much of a claim these days to sue. They sue you and choose a settlement amount a little less than what they think you will spend in attorney fees to fight them.

Ignoring the entire issue of being sued, everybody needs a will. If you have enough assets, you may need a trust. You could also use trusts for certain situations such as providing for disabled children after you pass away.

if you want a trust, get one. you can set up a trust yourself. just read about what a trust can do and not do.

https://www.google.com/search?q=advantage+of+having+a+trust&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

going full time and having a trust are totally unrelated. good luck on full timing however.

You paid the lawyer good money and now you come here and ask for other opinions from non-lawyers so they will agree with you?

If you're worried about being sued get an umbrella policy from your insurance agent on top of your fulltimers policy.

Barb