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  • A Google Search for: "Why do Trusts work?" and "Why do Revocable Trusts work?" yielded these results.  See Photos below:

    I got the same Google Search results for "Why do Revocable Trusts work?" with Reddit and Twitter entries as well. 

    Why do Revocable Trusts work? 

    The five Ws are who, what, when, where, and why. These word questions allow students, writers, and researchers to understand the full scope of the topic being discussed.


    When you ask "why" you are getting at: Why did this event take place? Why is this important in the big picture? Why should readers care?  Why do government entities - who seem to have a hand in many aspects of your personal affairs - take a hands-off approach to Trusts and Equity? 

     

    The fact that there is no "why?" question or answer for this topic in a Google Search is substantial. There could be several reasons why it doesn't appear.  Has no one ever asked or answered this question in an online public forum? In the history of the internet? 


    One thing is certain to me- it leaves an information gap that needs clarification to prevent confusion.  In the simplest terms that I can relate to you, when you form a Trust - then fund and record it properly - you take your agreement & intent from a Public Jurisdiction/Court to a Private-Equity Jurisdiction/Court. As shown in the Magna Carta Trust diagrams below

  • You don't need to go back to the Magna Carta to understand why your Revocable Trust gives you Probate Protection TODAY.

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  • When you properly execute your Public Notices at the County Recorder, you REMOVE YOUR PROPERTY and ASSETS FROM PUBLIC PROBATE ADMINISTRATION and into PRIVATE TRUST ADMINISTRATION. Private Beneficiary Designations and Transfer-on-Death transactions do not fall under Public Probate Administration either.

    A Revocable Trust will NEVER need Court Administritation unless there is a Beneficiary and Trustee dispute. Otherwise it is a PRIVATE AMENDABLE AGREEMENT between the Grantor, Trustee(s) and Beneficiary(ies) for the life of the Trust until it is settled and dissolved. 

    If there is a dispute, your Trust will fall under the jurisdiction of  Chancery Courts or Probate Courts following Uniform Trust Codes and the Maxims of Equity. A Court Administered Contructive Trust and Resulting Trust will be created to fulfill the "Intent of the Grantor" when necessary, in a Trust Dispute.

    Map-out and plan your Revocable Trust accordingly to reduce the possibility of disputes after the last grantor passes away.  

    This is the foundation of my Probate Protection Services and the Sui Juris Law Procedure that anyone can operate under to protect their assets.

  • You don't need to go back to the Magna Carta to understand why your Revocable Trust gives you Probate Protection TODAY.

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  • 20 Maxims of Equity

    1. Equity sees that as done what ought to be done
    2. Equity will not suffer a wrong to be without a remedy
    3. Equity delights in equality
    4. One who seeks equity must do equity
    5. Equity aids the vigilant, not those who slumber on their rights
    6. Equity imputes an intent to fulfill an obligation
    7. Equity acts in personam or persons
    8. Equity abhors a forfeiture
    9. Equity does not require an idle gesture
    10. He who comes into equity must come with clean hands
    11. Equity delights to do justice and not by halves
    12. Equity will take jurisdiction to avoid a multiplicity of suits
    13. Equity follows the law
    14. Equity will not aid a volunteer
    15. Where equities are equal, the law will prevail
    16. Between equal equities the first in order of time shall prevail
    17. Equity will not complete an imperfect gift
    18. Equity will not allow a statute to be used as a cloak for fraud
    19. Equity will not allow a trust to fail for want of a trustee
    20. Equity regards the beneficiary as the true owner

  • Maxim #4) One who seeks Equity must do Equity:

    "One who seeks Trust must do Trust"- that means going to the County (Parish) Recorder with Public Notices then Declaring and Funding your Trust with signed, witnessed and notarized documents.  

     

    Maxim #6) Equity imputes an intent to fulfill an obligation:

    In a Trust Dispute, it comes down to the interpretation of "The Intent of the Grantor".  The only time that your Trust will appear in a courtroom is if there is a Trustee / Beneficiary dispute. Map and Plan your Trust Intent accordingly.

  • What is Uniform Trust Code?

    According to the governing body of the UTC - "The Uniform Trust Code (UTC) is a comprehensive codification of the common law on trusts."  The Uniform Law Commission (ULC) is the governing body. The ULC is a nonprofit formed in 1892 to create nonpartisan state legislation. Over 350 volunteer commissioners—lawyers, judges, law professors, legislative staff, and others—work together to draft laws ranging from the Uniform Commercial Code to acts on property, trusts and estates, family law, criminal law and other areas where uniformity of state law is desirable.

    https://www.uniformlaws.org/home

     

    UTC Article 1 - General Provisions and Definitions

    "The Uniform Trust Code, although comprehensive, does not legislate on every issue. Its provisions are supplemented by the common law of trusts and principles of equity."

    https://www.uniformlaws.org › ...PDF
    UNIFORM TRUST CODE

     

    UTC State Adoption

    According to their 2019 UTC Fact Sheet: 36 States have adopted the UTC. The UTC is a separate and different court jurisdiction than Probate. Your private Trust will only be administered by the UTC in the event of a Trust dispute, similar to Chancery/Equity Courts. The UTC courts still incorporate the Principles (of the Maxims) of Equity. 

    Link to the Fact Sheet is below:

    https://www.uniformlaws.org/committees/community-home?attachments=&communitykey=193ff839-7955-4846-8f3c-ce74ac23938d&libraryentry=09c77096-90c4-4e0e-a84f-afc698b48d01&pageindex=0&pagesize=12&search=&sort=most_recent&viewtype=card

     

  • Trust Fund Babies

    You don't need to be a millionaire family to have Trust Fund Babies. When you properly fund and record your standard Trust documents at the County Recorder - Your beneficiaries become Trust Fund Babies. It's as simple as that.

  • Christian Walters and New Trust Technology

    Around 2009, Christian Walters began a series of TalkShoe Podcast, call-in shows about Trusts. The series was titled  "Money, Banking and Trusts" and "New Trust Technology." Ever since he passed away in 2016, the audio files are no longer available on TalkShoe.  As of today, there are some random audio files and PDF transcripts floating around the web. 

    There's a YouTube Channel that keeps the most comprehensive repository of his audio files that I've seen online. I've re-listened to CW's audio files here for at least a couple of years now. CW would read directly from standard Trust reference books like "Gilbert's Law Summaries on Trusts" and "Weiss's Concise Trustee Handbook" then use "Black's Law Dictionary" to translate ambiguous or unfamiliar terminology like -

    "Fungibility": the ability of a good or asset to be interchanged with other individual goods or assets of the same type or:

    "Equitable Estoppel": a judicial doctrine by which a litigant may be prevented, or "stopped," from raising an argument or a legal defense in a lawsuit.

    This was the foundation of the call-in show's exploration into understanding the nature of Trusts in Commerce. I began listening and participating in the live TalkShoe calls around 2010.   

    Well, the YT channel is now subscriber-only for CW's audio content.  I have no affiliation with this YT Channel other than highly recommending CW's audio material for real-world Trust applications. The audio content can be found here: 

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMgQr1ZeKbw&list=PL4soBwmkKQt9XLc1d_Cz6XZxoLWXrfMuk

     

  • Probate Costs / Expenses by State

    The costs / expenses below DO NOT include Estate Disputes between beneficiaries and-or  beneficiaries and the Executor. 

    Estate Disputes are additional costs and not "ordinary services". The additional costs are not subject to "reasonable compensation" requirements set by some State Codes for ordinary Probate services. State Codes for "reasonable compensation" to attorneys for ordinary probate services DOES NOT exist in all states. Check the Probate Laws in your State.

    Examples: Florida has a State Code "reasonable compensation" requirements for Ordinary Probate Services but Texas does not. Neither state has "reasonable compensation" requirements for the additional cost of Estate Disputes, which can be substantial.

    When litigation for non-payment of Estate Dispute fees occur,  it restricts the distribution of probate property to the heirs.

     

    Web Example of Probate Attorney Fee Ranges - USA:

    "Probate lawyer fees can vary - lawyers can charge hourly or a flat rate. Some states allow probate attorneys to charge a fee based on a percentage of the estate value. "

    https://trustandwill.com/learn/probate-fees

     

    Two State Examples:

    State of Texas:

    Wide range of Attorney Fees with no statute for reasonable probate attorney fees. 

    Web Example of TX Probate Attorney Fee Ranges:
    "The total attorney’s fees may be as low as $3,000 or significantly higher–depending on the work involved, the complexity, etc."


    https://dfw-probate-law.com/faqs/how-much-does-probate-cost-in-texas/#:~:text=The%20total%20attorney's%20fees%20may,to%20be%20basic%20probate%20services.

     

    Web Example of TX Probate Attorney Fee Ranges:
    "Court costs are about $380 in Texas. A more complicated estate might run slightly more in attorneys' fees, but it would be unusual for the fees to exceed $2,500."


    https://www.adairbuckner.com/cost-of-drawing-up-a-will-vs-probate-without-a-will#:~:text=The%20Cost%20Of%20Probate%20With%20A%20Will&text=Court%20costs%20are%20about%20%24380,the%20fees%20to%20exceed%20%242%2C500.

     

    State of Florida: 

    Florida has a statute for reasonable Probate Attorney Fees: (see 1733.6171 below) $1500 is the floor


    In addition to Attorney's fees there are:

    -Court filing fees (around $300 to $400)

    -Postage for certified documents-Charges for publishing the legal notice to creditors

    -Accountant fees

    -Probate costs for assets held in other states or overseas


    Florida Statute - 1733.6171 

    Compensation of attorney for the personal representative.
    (3)Subject to subsection (2), compensation for ordinary services of attorneys in a formal estate administration is presumed to be reasonable if based on the compensable value of the estate, which is the inventory value of the probate estate assets and the income earned by the estate during the administration as provided in the following schedule:

    (a) One thousand five hundred dollars for estates having a value of $40,000 or less.

    (b) An additional $750 for estates having a value of more than $40,000 and not exceeding $70,000.

    (c) An additional $750 for estates having a value of more than $70,000 and not exceeding $100,000.

    (d) For estates having a value in excess of $100,000, at the rate of 3 percent on the next $900,000.

    (e) At the rate of 2.5 percent for all above $1 million and not exceeding $3 million.

    (f) At the rate of 2 percent for all above $3 million and not exceeding $5 million.

    (g) At the rate of 1.5 percent for all above $5 million and not exceeding $10 million.

    (h) At the rate of 1 percent for all above $10 million.


    http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0733/Sections/0733.6171.html


    https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forthepeople.com/florida/what-is-the-cost-of-probate/%3famp

     

    Another Example of why you need Probate Protection

    This is for ordinary Probate Services only and is not an Estate Dispute involving the additional fees associated with disputes. 

     

    "All Bob McGuire wanted was to cash out his wife's modest retirement account and use the money to pay the mounting bills that have accompanied her dementia diagnosis.

    After nearly a year, the 75-year-old Surprise, (AZ) resident and Navy veteran has racked up $6,000 in legal bills and court fees to access the $25,000 individual retirement account.

    And his ordeal — navigating probate in Maricopa County Superior Court to obtain guardianship and conservatorship of his wife, Linda — isn't over: McGuire is contesting roughly another $2,000 in legal fees from a court-appointed attorney, designated by a court commissioner to represent and protect the interests of his wife.

    When it's all settled, the family could end up losing one-fourth of his wife's IRA to legal fees and bills, McGuire said."

     

    https://www.wltx.com/article/news/nation-now/man-spends-thousands-in-probate-court-costs-as-he-tries-to-help-wife-with-dementia/465-fd698f66-43a7-47a4-8cad-3385f094205b 

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