Estate Planning FAQs
If you die without a trust in the state of Hawaii and you have assets that exceed $100,000, you would have to go through an informal or formal probate process.
Probate is the legal process in which Hawaii court proceedings determine whether the testators executed a valid will. The process is public and may bring potential challenges to the will that was created. Many clients prefer privacy over a public disposition of a clients assets. A trust will accomplish that with the disposition of assets to their intended beneficiaries. Why do we have Probate? One main reason is to prevent fraud. Fraud could occur if a person’s assets are taken from whom they are intended for. Probate could happen to anyone.
Create a Trust. A trust is a legal entity in which one person or organization controls property that is given by another person for the benefit of a third party. The person that is giving the property is referred to as the grantor, the person in control of the property is referred to as the trustee, and the person that the trust benefits is referred to as the beneficiary. In some trusts, you can be named as the grantor, trustee, and the beneficiary. Keep in mind, some estates may benefit from an independent trustee who is subject to strict legal requirements when administering the trust.
The most common trust is a living trust, which takes effect while you are alive. Setting up a living trust, you transfer title of your assets you want to protect in the trust from you as an individual to the trust. Living trusts can be setup as revocable or irrevocable. A revocable trust can be amended while the grantor is alive. An irrevocable trust, generally is more difficult to modify but has its benefits.
After our Plan Attorney completes your trust, it is critical that we help you fund the Trust. If the Trust is not properly funded, all your financial assets will go through Probate (a long drawn out and expensive court process). In order to complete trust funding, we require a current copy of all your financial statements at the meeting. This includes your insurance, 401(k), ira accounts, stock accounts, annuity’s, savings accounts, and checking accounts.
After your assets are properly funded in the trust, your trust will distribute your assets free of probate. Insuring only your intended beneficiaries receive your assets and not anyone outside your bloodline.
Call for a Free Trust Review to meet with one of our plan attorneys, to review the estate plan and ensure that your estate plan was written how you intended. Please note, new laws can be amended in your trust to provide you and your family with a form of asset protection.
No fee is due until the work is complete. Our plan attorney works under a flat fee arrangement. No billable hours. Our attorney’s will never charge you extra for meetings in-person or on the phone.
After the first meeting, the plan attorney will determine the flat fee cost. All charges are determined by the complexity of the client case.