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Get Grandma The Right Advisor To Avoid Trust Mill and Sales Scams

Many older people want to get their affairs in order. And, they have read articles or been to seminars emphasizing the advantages of living trusts over the traditional will. It seems convenient therefore when a smiling person comes to their door and offers to help them to create a living or revocable trust.

In some states, the use of a trust is important to avoid high probate fees or expensive and time consuming probate systems. In Pennsylvania, however, there are many good reasons to use a will and some of the advantages of trusts are limited or non- existant. Pennsylvania is genrally speaking, a high tax state and a low probate fee state. We often advise clients to use trusts but there are many reasons that they may want to use a less expensive approach.

Many Pennsylvania residents are being tricked into believing that they should have trusts to avoid "outrageous" probate fees. They are sold these trusts at a very high cost (sometimes more than the probate fees that will be saved) and are often also sold expensive "investments" or "products" that pay high comissions but do not sere the real needs of the elderly person.

These products and services are often sold at seminars or in the home by non lawyers posing as "certified trust advisers". When all is said and done, many of these vistims have form documents that do not serve their needs, prodcuts that are costly, and a plan that is not customized to their desires.

In fact, many states including Pennsylvania have moved legally against these trust mills and the Attorney General of more than one state has moved to sue or to enjoin these bad players from these illegal and abusive practices.

Bottom line? If your aging parent, grandparent or relative wants a trust, get them a good attorney with experience in this area of the law and who preferably will give your relative a flat fee and a free inital consultation. In this way, they will get customized advice from someone who is not trying to sell them finacial products.

And, if they are already working with a trust mill, or a suspected trust mill, try to get the information to help and protect them from being the victim of fraud.

For more information visit this consumer site.

David M. Frees III

David M. Frees III is an attorney and author of many resources, books, reports and papers
for Pennsylvania residents interested in matters related to their estates, trusts, and asset protection
planning for themselves and their heirs.

Attorney David M. Frees III whose practice involves trusts, estates, wills, and estate and asset protection planning, has just published a new (and free) guide for executors of wills probated in Pennsylvania.  The report entitled:  The Ten Most Common Mistakes That Executors make and How To Avoid Them.  This is a guide for executors to prevent personal liability and a guide to you if you're planning your estate and need to decide who is the best executor.

David Frees and Unruh, Turner, Burke and Frees have offices located conveniently in Malvern, Phoenixville, and West Chester Pennsylvania.  Just click here for directions.

If you are an executor, or if you need to update an old will, trust, or estate plan, or if you need to do one for the first time, call 610-933-8069 and ask for one of David's assistants for an appointment with David or one of his team. 

Please tell us that you're calling from our estate planners web site and you will receive a bonus when you come for an appointent or you have a telephone conference with David.

David Frees has attained AVVOs highest lawyer rating of "superb" or 10.  For more information on David Frees' AVVO rating click here.

For more info from David M. Frees, III

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