Making a Living Trust: Can You Do It Yourself?

Find out if you can make your own living trust, and how to get started.

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If you've decided you want a living trust to avoid probate, how should you proceed? Do you need a lawyer, or can you make a living trust yourself? With a little education, most people can draw up a perfectly legal living trust for next to nothing. Read on to learn how living trusts help avoid probate, how to make a living trust, and whether you can make one yourself.

How Do Living Trusts Avoid Probate?

For many Americans, a significant goal of estate planning is to avoid probate. A revocable living trust, unlike a will, offers a fast, private, probate-free way to transfer one's property after death. Although a living trust is not a complete substitute for a will (it doesn't allow you to name a guardian for a child, for example), it is definitely a more efficient way to transfer property at death, especially large-ticket items such as a house.

How Much Does a Living Trust Cost?

Assuming you decide you want a revocable living trust, how much should you expect to pay? If you are willing to do it yourself, it will cost you about $30 for a book, or $100-250 for a service such as WillMaker & Trust. If you hire a lawyer to do the job for you, get ready to pay an average of between $1,000 and $2,000.

You may assume that paying thousands of dollars for the assistance of a professional means you'll receive good value. You get what you pay for, right? Maybe not. If you are willing to invest a couple of hours of your time using a top-quality do-it-yourself resource, you may end up with just as good a result.

How to Make a Living Trust

To understand why most lawyers charge too much for a living trust and why it is safe to do it yourself, it helps to know that a living trust is about as easy to prepare as a will. To draft a standard living trust—which is what most attorneys offer—you start with a lot of legal boilerplate (off-the-shelf legal language) and add the following information:

  • The name of the person creating the trust (called the grantor, settlor, or trustor). If it's your trust, that's you.
  • The name of the person who will manage the trust (the trustee). Again, if it's your trust, this is you. That's right, the same person creates it and controls it.
  • The name of the person who will take over as trustee and distribute property in the trust when the trustor dies or becomes incapacitated (the successor trustee). Most people choose a spouse, grown child, or close friend.
  • The names of the people who will receive the property in the trust (your beneficiaries, just as with a will).
  • The name of a person to manage any property left to young beneficiaries.

After the trust is drawn up, you sign it in front of a notary public.

Finally, to make the trust effective, all property to be distributed under its terms must be transferred into the name of the trustee using a deed or other standard transfer document.

When to Make a DIY Living Trust, and When to Use a Lawyer

If it's this easy, why not do it yourself? Many people do, quite successfully. (See this survey on people's experiences with do-it-yourself estate planning.)

But consider hiring a lawyer if you have questions about your particular situation or a thorny estate planning issue that a basic living trust just doesn't address. For example, you'll want to consult an attorney if:

  • You have a lot of debts
  • You're not sure what you own
  • You don't have someone you trust to name as successor trustee
  • You want to place conditions on your gifts (such as giving money to your nephew only if they graduate from college)
  • You anticipate family conflict over your gifts,
  • You live abroad or own property abroad, or
  • You might owe estate taxes.

But even if you do go the lawyer route, it's worth doing a little research on your own; it's a lot more cost-efficient than paying a professional to educate you about the basics.

Next Steps

Look over the state list below to learn more about living trusts in your state.

For help on choosing a good estate planning attorney, read How to Find an Excellent Lawyer. Or you can go to Nolo's Lawyer Directory for a list of estate planning lawyers in your geographical area (click on the lawyer's or law firm's profile to learn about a lawyer's experience and philosophy).

Make a Living Trust in Your State

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You should not send any sensitive or confidential information through this site. Any information sent through this site does not create an attorney-client relationship and may not be treated as privileged or confidential. The lawyer or law firm you are contacting is not required to, and may choose not to, accept you as a client. The Internet is not necessarily secure and emails sent through this site could be intercepted or read by third parties.

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