There are basically three ways that you can get a living revocable trust or revocable living trust (however you want to call it).  You can go to the attorney, you can get it off the internet, or you can use a form book or template. 

The Attorney

Attorneys are the most expensive way to get a living revocable trust.  You also need to be aware that the number of attorneys that are good at drafting living revocable trusts is actually pretty small compared to all the attorneys out there.  Fortune magazine published an article on how to get a living revocable trust a few years ago, and they reported that “Only 1% of American lawyers know how to draw them properly.”  That’s not a good statistic. 

Today, lawyers will charge anywhere from about $1,000 on up.  A common price that is pretty good would be between $2000 and $3000 for a “mom and pop” type estate that isn’t subject to estate taxes or anything.  The only purpose of the trust is to avoid probate. 

The Internet

There are a number of internet sites that will help you get a revocable living trust.  You’ll obviously supply your personal information (Name, address, kids’ names, that sort of thing) to them so they can populate your information into their form.  They usually ask you some basic questions, like who you want to receive the assets of the trust after you die.   Based on your selection of several possibilities to the questions they ask, the computer will branch down a tree to put a form together for you.  When you have answered all the questions, the computer will spit out a document for you. 

For mom and pop who are just avoiding probate, the internet route might do just fine.  The internet sites charge between about $500 and $1500 for their trusts.  If you have a taxable estate, you would be penny wise and pound foolish to use the internet sites.  Unfortunately, no one can advise you on the taxable estate issue right now, because the Biden Administration is going to radically change those laws.  I can guarantee that whatever happens you, as middle America, are in the crosshairs of their tax collection machine.  You are going to lose. 

Forms

There are a number of “form books” available for do-it-yourself trust creators.  Here again, if you don’t have a taxable estate, the forms should work ok to avoid probate.  I have a set of trust forms that I think are the best out there.  They have been used by over 100,000 folks, so they are pretty tested.

Actually, I have documents that you create to meet your needs.  There are various choices of provisions, and you can pick the provision that fits your needs, so you create the trust.  I am proud of the fact that my trust creation course is the only one that discusses your options at each point and gives you the advantages and disadvantages to using each specific choice of document text.  There is about four hours of audio instructions that walk you through the creation and use of a living revocable trust.

I have a lot of different types of trusts—one for asset protection, one for taxable estates, one for couples without tax issues, one for single men with kids, one for single women with kids and then trusts for everyone who doesn’t have kids.  Believe it or not, the trusts require quite different language, even though the concepts are all the same. 

My BEEF with the lawyers, internet sites, and form suppliers is they all set you up for failure.  The vast majority of living revocable trusts don’t avoid probate for the families.  There may not be anything wrong with the trust document.  (Although, I have seen some wacko trust documents.)  But, nobody ever teaches you how to use your trust.  Unless you understand your trust, what it does, why it works, the legal tricks the trust lets you use, and really have a full understanding of everything, your trust will fail to deliver. 

Watch my YouTube on “How to Use a Living Revocable Trust” and get my free 17 page ebook on how to use your trust.  Of course, if you are just thinking about getting a living revocable trust, use my documents and audio instructions.  You’ll get a trust better than the majority of attorneys will give you, and a lot better than the internet sites.  The internet sites are all designed to meet the needs of the lowest common denominator in the crowd.  You’re not the lowest common denominator. 

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