If you are age 50 or older, you should take special care when  buying living trusts. Your age group is often a special target of sales-persons  whose goal is to sell you something without carefully analyzing your needs. lt is easy enough to become a victim. Living trust sales are a growing area of consumer fraud. Con artists make millions of dollars every year selling unnecessary trusts. Each year,  thousands of consumers lose from $500 to $5,000 through the purchase if living trusts. Often.families face potentially greater costs after the consumer's death, resulting from problems associated with the trusts. How do I protect myself? Take time when making your decision. Do not fall victim to high  pressure, "act immediately" sales tactics. Seek the advice of someone trustworthy and knowledgeable.  Contact your accountant, estate planning attorney, banker or financial  advisor. If you conclude that a trust might be right for you, deal directly with a licensed Texas attorney who has substantial expertise in estate  planning. What are some examples of false or misleading statements about living trusts? Con artists promote their businesses by making false or  incomplete statements about the probate process, guardianships, and the taxation of estates. Examples include: "Living trusts save taxes." This is  misleading. Most Texans' estates will face no death taxation at all. If  your estate is taxable, a will can accomplish exactly the same tax savings as a  trust at a much cheaper cost. "Living trusts help you avoid contested wills." Misleading. Trusts, just like wills, are subject to attack on  the basis of lack of capacity, undue influence, and fraud. "Living trusts avoid the expense of a guardianship." Misleading. A living trust is helpful to avoid the expense of a guardianship in case of your future incapacity. In many circumstances, a durable power of attorney is a simpler and less costly way to achieve the same  goal. "Attorneys charge from three to 10 percent or more to probate  your estate." False. Rarely do attorneys charge as much as  three percent. In fact, most attorneys do not charge a percentage of the estate  but instead charge an hourly rate for their work. "Probate takes years to complete." Misleading and very  unlikely. Non-taxable probate estates generally only take a year or  less to complete. In most circumstances, the administration of a living trust is no more time efficient than the administration of a will in probate. "Probate requires excessive time and money." False. Texas has adopted a simplified probate process under the Texas Probate Code. These independent administrations, accounting for more than  80 percent of Texas probates, involve only one court hearing and the filing of an inventory. "Everyone should have a living trust." False.  While a living trust is appropriate for some people, the cost of creating, funding, and  administering a living trust outweighs the benefits for most people. How do con artists operate? Con artists make false and misleading statements to people through telemarketing and mail solicitations, door-to-door sales, "free" seminars and workshops, and advertisements. They often try to meet in your home  through offers of a free living will, a free power of attorney, or a free  "estate analysis." The State Bar of Texas has issued an advisory opinion regarding  advertising and promoting living trusts for attorneys. Attorneys are not supposed to advocate a  living trust over a will or vice-versa. They should give you the pros and cons of both documents. If you feel that you have been a victim of a con artist or living trust salesperson, or an unethical attorney, please contact the State Bar  of Texas at (800)932-1900.  While non-attorneys are not subject to State Bar rules, they may be practicing law without a license. To Contact Us Click Here This page was adapted from the brochure, "Living Trust Scams and the Senior Consumer " prepared as a public service by the Texas Young  Lawyers Association Needs of Senior Citizens Committee and distributed by the  State Bar of Texas. This information is provided as a public service by the Law  Office of Jim McMillen. [index] Contact Webmaster@consumerlawoffice.com with comments or questions regarding this site. © Copyright, Jim McMillen, All rights reserved.