So, I have to apologize to the forum. I am flabbergasted that advice I passed on from 2 attorneys was wrong!

Thankfully I know this as my brother is an attorney.

I agree FF, if I am going to battle it will be through the proper channels not social media. I find that people will say things on social media that they wouldn't otherwise say, so I don't personally care for that angle of it. I also believe that if you destroy someone's character you are quilty of murder, so I tread carefully about naming names.

Another thing that we experienced and I think this was part of the sales pitch, EVERYTHING IS BASED ON SELLING FEAR! Ugh!

That makes me so mad, don't scare people into doing the right or needful thing, educate them on why it is a beneficial thing to do.

Oh, regarding using social media to voice a complaint, I would advise not doing it.

There is a very fine line between posting an opinion, and slander/libel. Many a person has been sued.

I guess dealing with lawyers is like dealing with doctors--I find I have to have errors corrected in my medical records when I go to the latter. My BIL has given me some good advice--just assume you're dealing with an idiot until s/he proves otherwise.

Hi ReallyReal, thanks for sharing back what you learned. This is such a challenging arena to navigate, made worse when the professionals themselves aren’t providing good information. My two cents is that it is worth your while to submit a complaint to your state bar. They will likely not do anything, however if the complaints mount over the years for a particular attorney they will be able to act. That “self-policing” of the legal profession really only works if people speak up.

Also, I can’t recall if it was you or someone else on the forum who mentioned that in contested cases you really need a special type of elder lawyer. Not suggesting that is what is happening in your case but I wanted to highlight it because that was a “learned the hard way” item for me. Many estate lawyers are great at the planning/filling out the forms/documents part of work, but are not as good if there is conflict to be resolved. In those cases you really need a more motivated advocate. There are certain estate and elder lawyers who specialize in contested cases but you have to know that to find them in your community.

Jane

Something odd here. Just find it weird an elder lawyer would not know a trust does not go through probate. Most all of my friends who are not lawyers know that.

Every trust should have a pour over will, this essentially says that everything goes to the trust. Then it gets distributed per the trust.

Bettysue, one thing we were told is to make sure your big ticket items are titled in the name of the trust, we have everything in our trusts name. The pour over will is for untitled assests and personal belongings that wouldn't go through probate.

Also, spouse to spouse there is no estate tax, going to charity no tax, anyone else- 40% estate tax but the minimum assets have to exceed 11 million before there is tax. If some new law isn't added this will drop to approximately 6 million in a few years. So unless you have loads of money you should be okay.

Probate gets costly when there is in fighting and no trust or will. Anyone can make a claim against any estate, getting a piece of the pie is a different story but it still costs money for the estate to battle.

ITSA crazy crazy world!

Im wondering if the WHOLE will has to be probated or something called a pour over will. I am upset too but apparently here ... in MO ... that is always included to cover anything missed in the trust or that doesnt share a name with my kids.

Why can't i just stipulate that everything mine is theirs !!!

Seems that lawyers/court are going to make sure they will get a piece of our ... in my case ... little pie !

Good grief! How disheartening to hear this! It seems we can't expect anyone to do a job right any more!
Merry Christmas to you all!

No need to file a complaint, use social media to get the word out. I'm sure they have a Facebook account. You can also rate them on Google. Plenty of other media available.
Gad you got the right answer before investing money with one of the "uneducated".

Isthisrealyreal, oh my gosh the attorneys were Elder Law attorneys. I wouldn't bother filing a complaint, just use your experience as a life lesson. Yes, buyer beware.

For myself, when I looked around for a specialized attorney, I found my attorney here on the Aging Care website under the section of Elder Law Attorneys. I was quite pleased with my choice as she has an outstanding resume. Plus, if the attorney should leave the firm or one leave [it's quite a large firm], there are other Elder Law Attorneys to choose from within the firm.

To clarify, these were certified elder law attorneys.

That is the scary part.

We didn't just blindly pick attorneys, we got referrals from other "professional" people. We are firm believers that due diligence handles most situations before they start.

We always interview anyone we are hiring, we believe that they work for us and if they want to charge for the 1st mtg. Their name gets scratched.

What is the world coming to, can't really file a complaint because it is a he said she said situation and I am to busy to pursue air.

It truly is a buyer beware world.

Isthisrealyreal, best to have an attorney who specializes in "Elder Law".

I remember back when I saw a copy of my parent's Will, and was surprised to see how it was written. My parents had their real estate attorney write up the Will and he just wrote in what my parents requested. Oh dear.

So I quickly had my parents visit with my Elder Law Attorney, and the complex items my parents had in their old Will, the Attorney removed those items as it would have cause a very complex probate. The Attorney had my parents set up a Revocable Trust instead.

Your first appt should be free. If not, walk out. For starters, talk to friends. Ask. But also contact your your local and state bar Association, you want an AV. RATED lawyer. You want one who has been a lawyer for a bit and an elder lawyer.

We have been told by our elder law atty that any accounts that have a beneficiary listed automatically passes to the named beneficiary at death and doesn’t have to be probated.

What a horrible lesson to have to learn!! So glad you finally got to the facts!!

Problem here. Were they estate lawyers? We have money invested and were told that these won't have to go thru probate. Girls are beneficiaries.

Wow, I'm appalled you were given bad information multiple times...and from professionals who should have known better! Thank you for ensuring the right info was passed. Have a great weekend and holiday season yourself!