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Transfer Assets 

Can my father's Trust protect my assets?

September, 2011

demoQ - I am working on my father's trust and started transferring his assets as required.  I like the protection that's provided by his Trust, can I use his trust to protect my assets?  A - Once you have completed all the elements of the trust, including the transfer of assets, the trust is considered finished.  And no, unfortunately you cannot use your father's trust for your assets, but if your father's Trust was completed by us, you are eligible for our preferred client pricing, call us to find out more.  

Current News:

HIPAA Compliance

April 2003

demoThe Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) provides protection for release of individually identifiable health information and special release and consent authority to all healthcare providers before medical information can be released.  HIPAA effects documents executed in a trust, as such, it is not grandfathered in which means that it can render executed documents of previous executed Living Trust useless.  Ensure your Living Trust is in compliance with these regulation.  All IntegriTas Living Trust are in compliance with the order. 

Survivors 

Who Contacts  the Survivors? 

December, 2011

demoQ - My father died and I believe he had a trust.  Does the attorney contact me to discuss my dad's last requests?  I don't have the attorney's information and how does the attorney know that he is deceased?  A - Unless the attorney was a friend or the Trustee for your dad, its unlikely he would know that your father passed.  So first, you need to start checking around the house for the trust manual.  Did your dad have a safety-deposit box? Once you have located the manual, you can determine who is the Successor Trustee and who will carry out the provisions of your dad's trust.  If someone else has been named Successor Trustee, you will need to get in contact with that person to ensure they carry out the orders of the trust.

 

NOTICE: IntegriTas has moved next door to:
4101 Perimeter Center Drive, Suite 109
Oklahoma City, OK 73112

IntegriTas Protects You, Your Family and Your Estate

    During Your Life and After Your Passing.


Parents prepare a Will to leave a legacy for loved ones, but do not realize the emotional and expensive burdens caused by Probate.  Our expertise is assisting families preserve estate assets through proper Trust and Estate Planning.

It's better to plan than to second guess at what can happen.  IntegriTas has saved clients thousands of dollars and inheritances that are meant for loved ones.  You can stop your spouse or love ones from becoming a Probate statistic!

What is an Estate?


An estate is simply everything you own, for instance:

  • Your Home
  • Other Real Estate (Note: must go thru probate in each state you own property)
  • Bank Accounts
  • Businesses
  • Investments
  • Retirement Accounts
  • Insurance Polices
  • Collectibles
  • Personal assets

If you own a home, have a car and have bank accounts - you have an estate and should consider Estate Planning.

        WITH ESTATE PLANNING , NO ONE GETS A SECOND CHANCE!


Ask yourself this question, what will happen to my assets, if I were to pass next week?  Over 70% of Americans will procrastinate until it's too late...  Their assets will not be automatically divided to their heirs, because they did not PLAN PROPERLY NOW!   Titled assets must be transferred to heirs, and probate is the process.

Most families don't even have a Will, which by-the-way is just an automatic invite into Probate.

What is a Will?


Like we mentioned above, a Will is merely an invite into Probate.  A Will simply identifies who the heirs are to be, and expresses your desires regarding asset distribution.  It is instructions to the Probate judge.picture

  • A Will can be easily contested once in Probate court.  And, ANYONE can enter a claim against the estate; including creditors, relatives, outside sources, the IRS and others.  They can all make claims against the estate and many times they win...

People think that without a Will there will be an absence of problems. Not true! If you have titled assets and no Will when you pass, a Probate Judge will design a Will for your heirs.  This is usually the basis of family arguments and contestation of assets after one has passed.  Hopefully, the last thing you want after your death is your family fighting over your possessions, right?

Learn more about what a Trust is and how can it protect your family, click here...

What is Probate?


Probate simply validates a Will, it...

  • Expresses intensions of your asset distribution to heirs.
  • Identifies who the heirs are.
  • Freezes all assets until the estate is open for Probate.
  • Appraises the value of all assets for the purposes of Federal Estate Taxes.
  • Pulls the rest of your estate into Probate, causing loss of funds.
  • Allows your private estate assets to become a matter of public record.

Want to know more about Probate process?  click here...

Want to know more about the stressful duties of the Executor? click here...

AARP estimates that... "The next generation will lose more than 2 BILLION DOLLARS ANNUALLY to the probate process."

Conservatively, 4% to 10 percent, plus additional fees (which increase this percentage, even more), of probated estates will be consumed by Probate unless proper steps are taken.

Probate can consume as much as 75% of a person's estate.

What is Estate Planning?

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Simply put, estate planning is deciding how you want your assets distributed after you die or become of an unsound mind. (unable to make decisions about your financial matters.)

A very common myth today is that Estate Planning is just for the 'elderly' or the 'wealthy'.  WRONG, it's something you need to do REGARDLESS of your age or wealth. That is, if you want to keep control of your assets (your estate) and of decisions about your medical care when something happens to you.

Benefits of estate planning:

  • Expresses intensions of your asset distribution to heirs.
  • Name who you want to receive your assets and these wishes become legally binding.
  • Allows you to reduce the amount of money that will be lost from additional expenses due to external forces, (Probate costs, etc.) from your estate.
  • The total satisfaction that you have all your financial affairs in order, so you won't leave your loved ones to deal with a costly administrative nightmare.

Estate planning allows you to making decisions about yourself, when you are no longer able to!

CALL OUR ESTATE PLANNING EXPERTS TODAY
866-659-6203 OR 405-602-2700

Quotes About Probate


"In the United States today, PROBATE is one of the most agonizing and expensive experiences in which an individual can participate.  To name someone as the executor of your Will (Last Will and Testament), is to place an incredibly painful burden upon that individual.  I would not wish that experience on my worst enemy!"   ~ Henry W. Abts III, Attorney

During a CBS Sixty Minutes television program, "I estimate that 90 percent of probate legal work is unnecessary."   ~ William Haworth, an Oklahoma Judge

"Lawyers have a legal monopoly on performing PROBATE.  They typically earn over $1000 dollars per hour for this service."   ~ David Hapgood, Attorney

Cost of Probate - Examples


You may be surprised to know what some notable people paid to have their estate settled through the probate process.
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower - $2,905,850 estate reduced by $671,420 - a 23% loss!
  • Nat "King" Cole - $1,876,640 estate reduced by $1,577,740 - a 84% loss!
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt - $1,940,990 estate reduced by $574,860 - a 29% loss!
  • General George S. Patton - $844,360 estate reduced by $266,820 - a 31% loss!

What about your estate? Well, a recent study by AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) found that the average cost of probate was 10% of the gross estate (from Modern Maturity magazine August-September 1991 issue)

With a Revocable Living Trust your heirs avoid the high costs of probate because your assets are titled in your name as trustee rather than in your individual name as owner. While you are alive and competent, you control your financial affairs much the same as you do without a trust. You manage your assets, receive the income, pay bills, etc. However, when you can no longer manage your affairs (either when determined incompetent or at death), your successor trustee (someone you name) automatically takes over. At your death, they can then settle your estate without going through the entire probate process or without hiring attorneys, if they so desire.

What is Living Probate?


Living Probate is the legal process in which conservatorship of assets and guardianship is obtained over an incapacitated person.

IntegriTas Estate Planning, not only provides you with protection against outside control, we also provide protection when you are incapacitated.  Proper estate planning and trust design allows YOU, not the courts, to keep control of what happens to you, when your can no longer handle your own affairs.  This is referred to as Living Probate.

FACT: Your Will does nothing to help you in legal matters, when you have become of incapacitated or of an unsound mind!

  • The courts can decide where you will live, and who obtains control of your assets when you are unable to speak-up for yourself.
  • The Courts will be the one who will appoint your "Conservator or Guardian" to control financial and health decisions for you.
  • The Court's decision of who will control your finances and healthcare matters may not be your spouse or even anyone in the family.
  • You can become a 'Ward' of the state.
  • And, who do you think pays the fees for these services?

Quote from one of IntegriTas' clients, "The Living Probate process took two years and sixty thousand dollars from our lives."

Do you have children or a person with special needs?  If you and your spouse pass at the same time - like in a car accident - the Courts will decide who obtains control of your assets and guardianship over loved ones.  And, the guardian doesn't always end-up being who you chose.

PROCRASTINATION: Everybody hopes they have made the right decisions for their loved ones, after they have passed, but, their good intentions usually end up with poor results.  If people only knew the results of poor planning after their death, most would have done things differently.

That's why it's so important to plan NOW, while you still can!

All you have to do is take that first step by calling us.  Let IntegriTas show you how easy it can be to protect your love ones.  And for a limited time, when you call, you can receive a...

                                     *** FREE CONSULATION ***
                              just mention 'Promo Code 4545' when you call.

CALL OUR ESTATE PLANNING EXPERTS TODAY
866-659-6203 OR 405-602-2700

Why should you invest in Estate Planning?


FACT: Families who invest in Estate Planning, do so to control who receives their assets, after they have passed.  Trust and Estate Planning give heirs the legal authority to distribute assets immediately to beneficiaries eliminating probate, attorney fees and possible estate taxes.

Find out the benefits of having a Living Trust. click here...

INTEGRITAS ESTATE SERVICES, LLC
4101 PERIMETER CENTER, SUITE 109
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA 73112
TOLL FREE: 866-659-6203
OFFICE: 405-602-2700
FAX: 405-602-2858

EMAIL: admin@trustintegritas.com