Often the reaction is surprise that an unequal division is permitted.

To state the principle clearly, a person making a Will or a Trust has absolute discretion to decide who will inherit his or her property.  The estate can be left to a surviving spouse, to children (either all of them or just certain ones), to other family members, to friends, to business partners, or to a church or other preferred charity.  Once the person has spoken through the Will or Trust, that is where the property will go.  Period.

Objections or Will contests by disappointed spouses, children, or other family members will be to no avail unless there is strong evidence of mental incompetence or coercion at the time the Will or Trust was signed.

That being said, there are certain precautions that should be taken if a person decides to leave one or more children “out” of the Will.  There are certain steps that should be taken by his attorney or lawyer in the Boise, Meridian, and Eagle area in order to effectively do so.

First, it is important for your attorney to include the child’s name in the Will to show that you didn’t simply forget about the child.  By including the child’s name in a list of one’s children, that potential argument is defeated.  A child who has been “forgotten” by a parent may legally be able to claim a share in the property left when that parent dies.  Including the child’s name in the list of one’s children in the Will in Idaho shows that the child was not forgotten.  After the child has been included in the list of one’s children, the failure to leave anything to that child will be presumed to be intentional.  That decision will be upheld by Idaho probate courts.

Second, your lawyer should include a short statement in the Will to the effect that, “If I left you out of my Will, I did so on purpose.”

Third, an additional provision that states that “Any person who contests this Will is to receive no part of my estate” will also be helpful if included by your attorney.

Finally, an elderly client who suspects that disappointed children might try to pursue a will contest based on an allegation of mental incompetence should consider a visit with a physician shortly after the Will or Trust is signed.  At that visit, ask the physician to write a short letter expressing his or her opinion that the patient is mentally competent to make decisions regarding who will inherit the patient’s estate at death.  That letter can then be stored with the original Will and a copy can be placed in the attorney’s file for use in the event of a Will contest.

It is also a common misconception that a person must leave at least one dollar to any child who is being excluded from the Will.  That is not true.  Simply naming the child without leaving any gift to that child is sufficient in Idaho.

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Whether you live in Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Star, Nampa, or other nearby communities – in fact, anywhere in Ada County or Canyon County – for additional easy-to-understand information on Idaho Wills, Trusts, probate, and estate taxes, visit the user-friendly website at BarryPeters-Law.com.  Then call attorney Barry Peters’ offices at (208) 939-2600 for an expedited appointment to begin the process of setting up your own Living Trust.  Or, if you have questions, please call Barry for a free telephone consultation or visit his Q & A pages at BarryPeters-Law.com/common-questions.  As always, your total satisfaction is guaranteed by Barry Peters, Attorney at Law, where all clients receive individual attention to the details of their unique circumstances.

The first category is the genuinely simple Will.  It directs who is to inherit a person’s property upon death and it designates the Executor who is to make sure that the terms of the Will are followed.  For a single person, Idaho attorney Barry Peters will professionally prepare a simple Will for just $245.  That fee includes one meeting to discuss the details of the Will and a second meeting at which the Will is signed, properly witnessed, and notarized.  For a married couple, the cost of both Wills is a total of just $325.

The second broad category of Wills are those for the parents of children who are not yet old or mature enough to handle an inheritance responsibly.  These Wills include trust provisions under which the inheritance will be held and managed by a trustee until the children are old enough to manage the inheritance themselves.  They also designate the person who is to raise a minor child in the event the parent passes away before the child is grown.  For a single parent, Boise-area lawyer Barry Peters will prepare a Will with such trust provisions for a fixed fee of just $395.00.  For a married couple, the fee will be $495.00 for both the Wills together.

While these two options are very reasonable, they do have one or two significant drawbacks.  First, these estates must be taken through the delay and expense of the probate process.  For more information on the probate process, read the materials here.

For persons in Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Star, Nampa, or other nearby communities – in fact, anywhere in Ada County or Canyon County – who have substantial property (real estate, bank accounts, stocks and bonds, etc.) there is also the risk of estate taxes being due.  Simple Wills and Wills with trust provisions for minor children do nothing to maximize the size of the estate that is permitted to pass free of estate tax at death in Idaho.

The final category of Wills are called Pourover Wills.  They are prepared in connection with a Living Trust.  They serve as a safety net to move any assets to the trust that didn’t get transferred to the trust when it was set up.  Though short, these Wills are an important part of a much more comprehensive estate plan that (1) avoids probate, (2) plans for the possibility of disabling illness or injury during life, and (3) reduces or eliminates estate taxes.  For the total package of documents needed to properly set up a Living Trust, lawyer Barry Peters’ fixed fees are just $1,495.00.

As a person considers which attorney or lawyer to use to prepare a Last Will and Testament or a Living Trust, it is important to comparison shop.  By using an attorney who operates on a fixed-fee schedule, unpleasant surprises can be avoided.  Lawyers who are unable or unwilling to specify the amount of their fees in advance — or at least a range of fees — should  be a concern.

Satisfied clients are another important indicator when comparing attorneys.  That’s why Barry Peters’ web site includes testimonials from many of the satisfied clients who have used his services.

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Whether you live in Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Star, Nampa, or other nearby communities – in fact, anywhere in Ada County or Canyon County – for additional easy-to-understand information on Idaho Wills, Trusts, probate, and estate taxes, visit the user-friendly website at BarryPeters-Law.com.  Then call attorney Barry Peters’ offices at (208) 939-2600 for an expedited appointment to begin the process of setting up your own Living Trust.  Or, if you have questions, please call Barry for a free telephone consultation or visit his Q & A pages at BarryPeters-Law.com/common-questions.  As always, your total satisfaction is guaranteed by Barry Peters, Attorney at Law, where all clients receive individual attention to the details of their unique circumstances.

Anyone thinking about this option should consider four critical aspects of such a decision. Unfortunately, it is easier to create a catastrophe using do-it-yourself on-line documents than one might imagine.

Here are the main legal concerns generated by the use of on-line document services:

1. One Size Doesn’t Fit All: The very nature of Wills and Trusts generated on-line is that they present customers with a very finite set of options. They are produced under the premise that what works for regular people under normal circumstances should work for everyone. Although a limited amount of tailoring is available, the truth is that “regular people under normal circumstances” are hard to find. Unless you view yourself in that category, you should be cautious about using documents that are created with that assumption.

2. The Devil in the Details: Wills and Trusts are governed by a precise set of legal standards. Each state sets its own standards. The failure to strictly adhere to the technical requirements of the state in which the Will or Trust is signed could result in a legal contest between the heirs you designated and those who would have received your estate, but for the provisions of your Will or Trust. The resulting legal battle could demolish your family here in Idaho and result in years of expensive litigation for the ones you intended to bless with generous gifts in your Will or Trust.

3. Failure to Fund: Under a Living Trust, the process by which the property of the people making the trust is transferred into the trust is called “funding.” Unless the persons making the Living Trust change the ownership of their property, most of the advantages of the Living Trust will be lost. For example, failure to transfer assets into the trust will result in probate being required even though avoiding probate was usually a major reason for creating the Trust in the first place.  So whether your property is located in Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Star, Nampa, or other nearby communities – in fact, anywhere in Ada County or Canyon County – it is critically important to make sure that your lawyer or attorney prepares and records the deed moving your home and other property into your Living Trust.

4. Ancillary Documents: To have a thorough estate plan requires more than just a Living Trust Agreement. The complete plan should include the Living Trust Agreement, Last Will and Testaments, Living Wills, Durable General Powers or Attorney, one or more Deeds to move the real estate into the trust, and an Affidavit Regarding Residence of Trust to ensure that one’s homeowner’s property tax exemption is not lost in the process.

Unless an on-line package includes all of these documents, it is inherently incomplete, increasing the odds of significant problems for you and your loved ones either while you are living or when you pass away.

CONCLUSIONS: Essentially, on-line legal document services invite you to “bet the ranch” on their minimalist products. They ask you to place all of the property that you have worked a lifetime to accumulate into an arrangement that is easily jeopardized.

While meeting the applicable legal requirements is technically possible with an on-line service here in Idaho, it is very easy to overlook one or more of the required details leaving your loved ones with a potential disaster on their hands.

It is also worth noting that the tremendous savings of legal fees promised by LegalZoom.com and other such services tend to be seriously over-stated. For a sober apples-to-apples comparison of the complete Living Trust Package offered by Idaho attorney Barry Peters and the equivalent documents offered by LegalZoom.com, see the chart here. What you will find is that Barry Peters offers a complete Living Trust Package that is thoroughly and carefully crafted to address the unique details of your circumstances. You will also find that his pricing is very competitive, even when compared to on-line products.

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For an expanded discussion of this subject, see the article here.

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Whether you live in Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Star, Nampa, or other nearby communities – in fact, anywhere in Ada County or Canyon County – for additional easy-to-understand information on Idaho Wills, Trusts, probate, and estate taxes, visit the user-friendly website at BarryPeters-Law.com.  Then call attorney Barry Peters’ offices at (208) 939-2600 for an expedited appointment to begin the process of setting up your own Living Trust.  Or, if you have questions, please call Barry for a free telephone consultation or visit his Q & A pages at BarryPeters-Law.com/common-questions.  As always, your total satisfaction is guaranteed by Barry Peters, Attorney at Law, where all clients receive individual attention to the details of their unique circumstances.

The heirs listed in such a simple Will can usually collect their inheritance without having to go through probate.  Their attorney will instead use an alternate process called “Collection of Small Estate by Affidavit.”  Such an approach is very adequate, but only in those limited circumstances.

But what if one doesn’t fall into this narrow group?

If a person owns any interest in real estate in Idaho, a probate will usually be required in order to move the title to the property into the name of the desired heir.  To learn more about the probate process and how it can be avoided, see the explanations on attorney Barry Peters’  web site here.  Although joint tenancy, life estate, or community property with right of survivorship forms of ownership may be used to avoid probate, care must be taken to insure that such is appropriate under all the circumstances.  Real estate in Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Star, Nampa, or other nearby communities – in fact, anywhere in Ada County or Canyon County – will normally force an estate into probate unless the owner’s lawyer takes special steps to avoid such an outcome.

If a person has minor children to whom he or she wishes to leave an inheritance, use of a simple Will can create a substantial burden for those heirs.  A better approach is to use a Will that includes trust provisions detailing by whom and how that inheritance is to be held and managed and the age or ages at which those children are to receive their share of that inheritance.  For additional material on this question, see Barry Peters’ suggestions here.

If a person owns property in Idaho with a total value in excess of $100,000⁰⁰, the process for collecting a small estate by affidavit is not available.  Idaho law does, however, permit a person to designate the person who is to receive the remaining funds held in a bank account or the remaining investments held in a stock brokerage account upon the death of the person who created that account.  Funds or securities held in such account will not be included in that person’s property for purposes of determining whether the $100,000⁰⁰ limit has been exceeded.  But even for a person using such designations, the ownership of any real estate will generally force the estate into probate unless a Living Trust or Family Trust has been created.

As should be evident from this brief discussion, the question of how best to avoid probate is multi-faceted.  The best answer for any given person will require consideration of many aspects of the situation.  That is why consulting with an attorney or lawyer who is experienced in the area of Wills and Living Trusts is so important.  Failing to do so may create unnecessary delays, expenses, and frustrations for those left to deal with such inadequate planning.

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Whether you live in Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Star, Nampa, or other nearby communities – in fact, anywhere in Ada County or Canyon County – for additional easy-to-understand information on Idaho Wills, Trusts, probate, and estate taxes, visit the user-friendly website at BarryPeters-Law.com.  Then call attorney Barry Peters’ offices at (208) 939-2600 for an expedited appointment to begin the process of setting up your own Living Trust.  Or, if you have questions, please call Barry for a free telephone consultation or visit his Q & A pages at BarryPeters-Law.com/common-questions.  As always, your total satisfaction is guaranteed by Barry Peters, Attorney at Law, where all clients receive individual attention to the details of their unique circumstances.

The truth is that such an automatic transfer does not occur.  The reason for that is based on the fact that a deceased spouse is not legally required to leave his or her belongings to the surviving spouse.  Instead, he or she may leave a Last Will and Testament that directs that the estate be divided between the surviving spouse and children.  Or that it is to be transferred just to the children.  Or that it passes to his or her church or other favorite charity.  It is entirely up to the person who passed away to determine who is to inherit his or her property.

That being the case, unless special steps were taken to avoid probate, Idaho statutes and courts require nearly all estates to be probated in order (1) to determine who is legally entitled to inherit the deceased person’s property and (2) to carry out those inheritance entitlements.  And in the event that a spouse fails to identify who is to inherit his or her property, the answer to that question is dictated by certain statutes here in Idaho.  Typically, that will involve some allocation between the surviving spouse and the surviving children.

There are a few narrow exceptions that allow for processes that are simpler, less expensive, and less time consuming than probate.  But steps must be intentionally taken to implement them.  Some of those options are:

• Setting up a Living Trust or Family Trust and transferring property into that trust while both spouses are still alive; or
• If (1) the total value of the property owned by the person who passed away was less than $100,000 and (2) that property did not include any interests in real estate, then the estate can be transferred by the preparation of an Affidavit by the person who was legally entitled to inherit that property; or
• Title to real estate that a person owns can be held as Joint Tenants (with the right of survivorship) or Community Property With Right of Survivorship (if the joint owners are married); or
• The couple can prepare, sign, and record a Devolution Agreement covering their property; or
• Bank accounts, Savings & Loan accounts, and securities accounts can have a “Payable on Death” beneficiary designation that directs who is to inherit the assets in those accounts when the primary account holder passes away.

As this list is contemplated, it is also important to keep in mind that although several of these options may avoid probate on certain assets when the first spouse passes away, they do nothing to avoid probate when the other spouse passes away.  And taking steps to avoid probate on certain assets does not avoid probate on other assets.  The only viable means to avoid probate on all assets for both spouses is the use of a Living Trust or a Family Trust.

But in the absence of one or more of these specific and intentional steps to avoid probate, even a surviving spouse in Idaho is required to go through the probate process.  And it is also worth noting that, although a spouse can many times delay taking that step, such a delay can often result in complications for, and even legal disputes among, those who are to ultimately to inherit the property once both spouses have passed away.

For the sake of the surviving spouse and the rest of the family, steps taken to avoid probate will pay huge dividends at death both for the surviving spouse and for the other family members.  And after one spouse has passed away, the surviving spouse will make life easier for the children by taking the necessary steps to probate the estate of the deceased spouse rather than delaying that step until both spouses have passed away.

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Whether you live in Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Star, Nampa, or other nearby communities – in fact, anywhere in Ada County or Canyon County – for additional easy-to-understand information on Idaho Wills, Trusts, probate, and estate taxes, visit the user-friendly website at BarryPeters-Law.com.  Then call attorney Barry Peters’ offices at (208) 939-2600 for an expedited appointment to begin the process of setting up your own Living Trust.  Or, if you have questions, please call Barry for a free telephone consultation or visit his Q & A pages at BarryPeters-Law.com/common-questions. As always, your total satisfaction is guaranteed by Barry Peters, Attorney at Law, where all clients receive individual attention to the details of their unique circumstances.

What tends to create Will and Trust contests?  The answer is simple:  Either people (1) who believe they are entitled to a larger share than was left to them or (2) who believe they can get a larger share of the inheritance if the Will or Trust is overturned in court.

How can a legal assault on a Will or Trust succeed?  There are two main reasons why a Will or Trust contest may be successful.  They are that (1) the person making the Will or Trust was mentally incompetent to do so; or (2) the person was threatened or deceived into making the Will or Trust.

As far as defensive strategies, several that should be successful in the Boise, Meridian, and Eagle area come to mind.

First, an Idaho Will or Trust that leaves everything to a surviving spouse or to all surviving children in equal shares is much less likely to be challenged than one that skews the inheritance in favor or certain children.  The reason for this is simple.  If a court can be convinced to throw a Will or Trust out, certain state laws are then applied which will effectively divide the decedent’s property evenly between the surviving children (with a portion going to the surviving spouse if there is one).  So, keep in mind that an equal distribution between the children will tend to diminish the chances of a Will or Trust legal battle.  On the other hand, if there are valid reasons to enhance the inheritance of certain children, one should not be hesitant to do so.

Second, for a person who is of advanced years, it may be wise to obtain a letter from his or her primary physician to the effect that the physician believes that the person is competent to make his or her own decisions.  This will go a long way toward fending against a Will or Trust contest based on an allegation of mental incompetence.  But, again, the best defense may be to leave one’s estate to the children in equal shares if possible.

Third, any Will or Trust should include a “No-Contest” provision that says that anyone who contests the document shall receive no inheritance under it.  In the interests of full disclosure, though, I do have to admit that there is a statute in Idaho that says that such a requirement will not be enforced by Idaho’s courts.  Essentially the courts want an heir to be free to come forward with evidence of incompetence or coercion and not have to “bet the ranch” on their ability to be successful.  But having said that, it still makes sense to include such a provision in the Will or Trust in the hopes that it may discourage people from contemplating a contest.

Fourth, having your Will or Trust professionally prepared by an experienced attorney or lawyer will ensure that the technical requirements imposed by Idaho law are fulfilled.  Do-it-yourself or on-line Wills and Trusts often violate one or more of the requirements for witnesses, notarization, or content that are imposed by Idaho law.  Those documents tend to be much more easily thrown out in a legal contest.  Whether you live in Ada County or Canyon County, using a skilled attorney is the best first line of defense in a situation that may result in a Will or Trust contest.

Finally, if the Will or Trust favors one or more children over others, it would be advisable to make sure that your lawyer or attorney has at least one meeting or session with the parent with the children either not in attendance or dismissed from that portion of the meeting.  That will permit the attorney to ask questions and independently understand the basis for the decision to prefer certain children over the others.

While there is no airtight method of precluding a Will or Trust contest, the foregoing steps should make it extremely doubtful that any such contest would be successful.

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Whether you live in Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Star, Nampa, or other nearby communities – in fact, anywhere in Ada County or Canyon County – for additional easy-to-understand information on Idaho Wills, Trusts, probate, and estate taxes, visit the user-friendly website at BarryPeters-Law.com.  Then call attorney Barry Peters’ offices at (208) 939-2600 for an expedited appointment to begin the process of setting up your own Living Trust.  Or, if you have questions, please call Barry for a free telephone consultation or visit his Q & A pages at BarryPeters-Law.com/common-questions.  As always, your total satisfaction is guaranteed by Barry Peters, Attorney at Law, where all clients receive individual attention to the details of their unique circumstances.

The circumstances that can lead to this question are myriad.  But the answer is always the same:  No, you are not required to leave anything to your children.

If a person decides to leave one or more children “out” of his Will, there are certain steps that should be taken by his attorney or lawyer in the Boise, Meridian, and Eagle area in order to effectively do so.

First, it is important for your attorney to include the child’s name in the Will to show that you didn’t simply forget about the child.  By including the child’s name in a list of one’s children, that potential argument is defeated.  A child who has been “forgotten” by a parent may legally be able to claim a share in the property left when that parent dies.  Including the child’s name in the list of one’s children in the Will in Idaho shows that the child was not forgotten.  After the child has been included in the list of one’s children, the failure to leave anything to that child will be presumed to be intentional.  That decision will be upheld by Idaho probate courts.

Second, your lawyer should include a short statement in the Will to the effect that, “If I left you out of my Will, I did so on purpose.”

Finally, an additional provision that states that “Any person who contests this Will is to receive no part of my estate” will also be helpful if included by your attorney.

It is also a common misconception that you must leave at least one dollar to any child who is being excluded from the Will.  That is not true.  Simply naming the child without leaving any gift to that child is sufficient in Idaho.

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Whether you live in Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Star, Nampa, or other nearby communities – in fact, anywhere in Ada County or Canyon County – for additional easy-to-understand information on Idaho Wills, Trusts, probate, and estate taxes, visit the user-friendly website at BarryPeters-Law.com.  Then call attorney Barry Peters’ offices at (208) 939-2600 for an expedited appointment to begin the process of setting up your own Living Trust.  Or, if you have questions, please call Barry for a free telephone consultation or visit his Q & A pages at BarryPeters-Law.com/common-questions.  As always, your total satisfaction is guaranteed by Barry Peters, Attorney at Law, where all clients receive individual attention to the details of their unique circumstances.

What if you don’t feel your heirs are old enough to receive an inheritance yet? In that situation, leaving the inheritance under a Simple Will is possibly the worst thing that could be done.  It’s like giving matches and gasoline to a child.  It will end poorly.

In a Living Trust, on the other hand, your lawyer can delay the payment of the inheritance until you believe that your heir will be old enough to handle the inheritance.

Better yet, if the amount that you wish to leave to a young or immature heir is substantial, you can teach valuable life lessons even after you have passed away by distributing the inheritance in several installments.  For example, your lawyer or attorney could specify in the Living Trust that the heir will receive 10% of the inheritance at age 20.  Then 20% more could be paid at age 25 with the remaining 70% being held until age 30.

This approach has the advantage of letting the heir cut his or her teeth (and make mistakes) on a smaller share.  The heirs’ youthful mistakes should yield a greater maturity when the bulk of the inheritance passes at age 30.

With the help of an experienced attorney, you can ensure that the inheritance you leave will be the blessing that you intend.  As the book of Proverbs says, “A wise man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.” If you are careful and wise in how you leave your estate to your own children, that inheritance will grow and, in turn, pass to your grandchildren.

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Whether you live in Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Star, Nampa, or other nearby communities – in fact, anywhere in Ada County or Canyon County – for additional easy-to-understand information on Idaho Wills, Trusts, probate, and estate taxes, visit the user-friendly website at BarryPeters-Law.com. Then call attorney Barry Peters’ offices at (208) 939-2600 for an expedited appointment to begin the process of setting up your own Living Trust.  Or, if you have questions, please call Barry for a free telephone consultation or visit his Q & A pages at BarryPeters-Law.com/common-questions.  As always, your total satisfaction is guaranteed by Barry Peters, Attorney at Law, where all clients receive individual attention to the details of their unique circumstances.

A skilled attorney should be able to quickly tell you how much he or she will charge to prepare a Living Trust and the related documents.  If a lawyer dances around that question, that should be a red flag.  Perhaps the ball is being intentionally hidden.

A complete Living Trust package prepared by attorney Barry Peters (who serves the entire area including Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Nampa, and Caldwell) will cost just $1,495⁰⁰ and will include all of the following:

1. Living Trust Agreement;
2. Last Will & Testaments;
3. Warranty Deeds covering all real estate owned in Idaho;
4. Affidavit Regarding Residence of Trust (to preserve homeowner’s exemption for property taxes);
5. Powers of Attorney; and
6. Living Wills (which inform your family and physicians regarding the medical care that you desire in the event that you are in a coma).

Unless you (1) own real estate outside of the state of Idaho or (2) have a medical need for the documents to be signed, witnessed, and notarized at home or in a medical facility (instead of in the attorney’s office), there will be no other expenses to get the job done.

If you own real estate in another state, there will be additional fees for the preparation of the deeds transferring that real estate into the Trust.  We will arrange for the preparation and recording of those deeds through a local title company and their fees (usually around $200⁰⁰) will be added to the total.  Our lawyer fees will not be increased for arranging those details.

If there are medical reasons that prevent a client from leaving home or a medical facility to sign documents in our offices, an additional fee of $250 will be charged so that the attorney can come to your home or medical facility to oversee the signing, witnessing, and notarization of the documents away from our offices.

Again, if you own no out-of-state real estate and you are able to sign the documents at our offices, the entire process will cost just $1,495⁰⁰.

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Whether you live in Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Star, Nampa, or other nearby communities – in fact, anywhere in Ada County or Canyon County – for additional easy-to-understand information on Idaho Wills, Trusts, probate, and estate taxes, visit the user-friendly website at BarryPeters-Law.com.  Then call attorney Barry Peters’ offices at (208) 939-2600 for an expedited appointment to begin the process of setting up your own Living Trust.  Or, if you have questions, please call Barry for a free telephone consultation or visit his Q & A pages at BarryPeters-Law.com/common-questions.  As always, your total satisfaction is guaranteed by Barry Peters, Attorney at Law, where all clients receive individual attention to the details of their unique circumstances.

The answer is that they are nearly identical.

In Idaho, a Living Trust is an arrangement established with all of the pieces put into play while a person is still living.  With the counsel of his or her attorney, the person who created the Living Trust operates it so long as he is living.  He is also the person whose needs are taken care of out of the trust until he passes away.

The alternative is called a Testamentary Trust which is just a trust that is created in a person’s Last Will and Testament.  The Testamentary Trust does not come actually into existence until that person passes away.  Then, as part of the probate of that person’s estate, the Testamentary Trust is brought into existence.

A person can have his or her lawyer set up a Living Trust that does not have family members as the ultimate heirs.  The property could be left to friends or to charity instead.

But if a Living Trust in Idaho designates children or other family members as the heirs, it is sometimes called a Family Trust instead of a Living Trust.  Either term is acceptable.

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Whether you live in Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Star, Nampa, or other nearby communities – in fact, anywhere in Ada County or Canyon County – for additional easy-to-understand information on Idaho Wills, Trusts, probate, and estate taxes, visit the user-friendly website at BarryPeters-Law.com.  Then call attorney Barry Peters’ offices at (208) 939-2600 for an expedited appointment to begin the process of setting up your own Living Trust.  Or, if you have questions, please call Barry for a free telephone consultation or visit his Q & A pages at BarryPeters-Law.com/common-questions.  As always, your total satisfaction is guaranteed by Barry Peters, Attorney at Law, where all clients receive individual attention to the details of their unique circumstances.