Why an Estate Plan With the John E. Trojack Law Office, P.A.?
To see what distinguishes the John Trojack Law Office, P.A., from other law firms and estate planners, it is best to compare our services and estate plans to other options available to those looking for an estate plan. There are basically three different “tiers” of estate plans available. We have outlined them as follows:
I. Cookie-Cutter Estate Plans
These are the “make-your-own-will/trust” publications and services available over the Internet. This tier of estate plans also includes the “do-it-yourself” books that can be found in most bookstores.
A. Main Characteristics
1. Little to no Professional Guidance. You are completely on your own. Unless your specific question is addressed somewhere in the book, you are unable to seek professional legal advice about your estate plan. For the most part, your personal concerns and questions go unanswered. There is no one to assist you if there are complex questions of law.
2. Volume Seller. The motive of the source, whether a website or book publisher, is to get as many estate plans as possible. The authors make money based on how many books they sell or the number of hits on the website. Quantity is usually a much larger concern than quality.
3. Lack of Quality Control. No professional is available to make sure the estate plan conforms to the requirements of state and federal law. There is no official legal body that guarantees these types of estate plans will work. Other than what is written about the author in the book or website, you typically will know nothing else about the author.
4. One Size Fits All. These estate plans are not personalized in any way and say nothing about your interests and values. You fit into the plan, the plan doesn’t fit to you.
5. No Maintenance or Funding. Funding is a process that is unique to trusts. If an estate utilizes a trust, then the trust must be properly funded in order to make the trust work correctly. Funding is like putting gas in your car. If there is no gas in your car, it’s not going to work. Likewise with funding, if there is no funding or if the funding is done incorrectly, the trust is not going to work. An unfunded trust is a shell of a document, like a deed to a piece of property that you don’t own.
B. Important Considerations
1. Funding. Simply put, funding is correctly transferring the title on assets. As previously mentioned, a trust will not work without properly titled assets. Cookie cutter trusts offer little to know guidance regarding how to fund a trust properly. All you get is a shell of a document. There is no one to turn to if you have questions or feel nervous about titling property. Some other points to consider:
a. Do you know how to re-title property into the name of your estate
plan? An attorney, or his or her funding coordinator, often has extensive skill
and proficiency in funding the estate plan. If you do try to fund your estate
plan yourself, there is no way to check to see if you did it correctly.
b. If the funding is done incorrectly, will you know how to correct
the mistake? What if the bank or broker makes a mistake? Attorneys and
their funding coordinators have expertise in correcting errors.
2. Maintenance- Your estate plan should work at any point in your life. Like a car, an estate plan needs regular maintenance to run efficiently and smoothly.
a. Do you think your asset picture will be the same now as it will be in
ten years? Since asset pictures change frequently, it is important to have
someone to turn to for advice about your changing asset picture and how
you should adjust your estate plan.
b. If you have a change in marital status, have a child or adopt one, a
move to a different state, lose a loved one to death, or you experience
significant change in your personal financial status, there is no one to turn to
for advice on how your estate plan should adapt to these changes. There is
no one to help you if something changes in your life.
II. Lawyer- Created
A. Main Characteristics
1. Lawyer Created Estate Plans with Some Counseling. These estate plans are made by a lawyer. They usually consist of simple word processing with little counseling. The lawyer may ask a few questions about what kind of document the client would like and explain some basic legal terms, but beyond that, it is usually simply a form adjustment or fill-in-the blank or a process.
2. Some Professional Help. As stated earlier, this usually consists of the attorney asking you which “type” of document you want and giving you a brief explanation about what “it” does.
3. Some Funding. Some attorney’s do re-title the asset into the name of the trust. Most leave it up to the client. In our experience, the client is usually left without any direction about where to proceed. Consequently, a lot of assets are left out of the trust and must be probated. So then who does the client have to see again? A lawyer. How convenient.
4. No Maintenance Program. Most attorneys simply make an estate plan for the client’s current situation. This is fine, but the estate plan will become outdated and will not meet the client’s expectation if the client sells or acquires property or his or her asset picture changes in some other way. Most lawyers collect their fee for setting up the trust, and it is up to the client to re-title any new assets into the name of the trust.
III. Our Trusts
A. Main Characteristics
1. Counseling Oriented Attorneys. Our trusts are about more than just leaving property . . . it reflects your legacy. Our attorneys take the time and care to construct an estate plan with you that accomplish your specific needs, hopes, and aspirations. You teach us about your family, and we teach you about the law for your situation.
We believe that most estate plans just don’t work. By that, we mean that the plans do not fulfill the makers’ expectations, wants, and needs for their families. Unfortunately, the only time you know if an estate plan works is after you are able to do anything about it. We strive to create a well-designed estate plan that provides peace of mind that comes with knowing you have taken the appropriate steps to ensure that the future of your loves ones is guaranteed. In short, we want to make a plan with you that will work the way you want it to.
Our clients care about loved ones; that is where their concern is. They want to save taxes of course, but are relieved when we tell them we can easily accomplish tax reduction. Their interest and willingness to involve themselves centers around the people planning issues. Our estate plans offer an opportunity for all clients, with large or modest estates, to participate in tailor-made estate plans that reflect their real hopes dreams and aspirations for themselves and their loved ones. We also have the knowledge to achieve significant asset protection for your loved ones.
2. Professional Guidance. Through a series of interviews and discussions, we uncover our clients’ most significant estate planning objectives. We ask questions that most attorneys don’t. These questions are designed to clarify what sort of plan would suite you best in a holistic sense. We look at your asset picture to see what it is composed, of and then design an estate plan that is compatible with your asset picture and your overall estate planning objectives.
3. Fully Funding Your Estate Plan. We have a full-time Funding Coordinator who has years of expertise in funding trusts. He will make sure all your assets are correctly titled so you have a fully-functional estate plan. Clients can have the peace of mind and security that comes with knowing all their assets will be distributed and protected according to their wishes. The client actually sees the funding process first hand, and is able to participate in the process. Clients do not have to worry about during the funding process, because they are accompanied by a funding professional. The client has a personal guide who has expertise in funding to make sure nothing is overlooked in the estate plan. Clients greatly appreciate this service we offer, because is alleviates a great amount of stress.
4. Continuing Maintenance and Education. We expect our clients commit to an annual meeting where we summarize and review their estate plan. This is a great opportunity for our clients to tell us about new concerns they have, and to adjust the estate plan accordingly. We can also fund any new property or assets into the trust. This ensures that the estate plan is consistently updated and always in working order.
