If you are about to sign a living will prepared for you by someone who told you that you needed one during a free seminar or dinner, the Minnesota Attorney General has some advice for you.
The Minnesota Attorney General recently issued a very stark warning for consumers about living trust mills. They are a scam designed for a company to get its foot in the door and later sell you expensive, unnecessary insurance policies and annuities.
A living trust mill is a company that provides a form, one size fits all trusts. Consumers are often sold on the products by being offered a free dinner where a speaker proceeds to tell attendees that horrible things will happen after they pass away if they do not have a living trust. The Attorney General advises that consumers do not sign the living trust documents.
Consumer Affairs reported on this warning in "Consumers cautioned about 'living trust mills'."
It is important to note that not all living trusts are bad or a scam. They can be extremely useful estate planning documents that help distribute assets of your estate and keep your estate out of probate.
That noted, before getting a living trust it is advisable to see an estate planning attorney who can help you understand if a trust is your best estate planning choice or whether another option would be better.
If a trust is your best option, then the attorney can also draft it for you. Instead of a fill in the blank form document, the attorney can create a custom trust and ensure that it does what you want it to do.
Reference: Consumer Affairs (April 22, 2016) "Consumers cautioned about 'living trust mills'."
