Fill Out the Form
Complete the Will Information Sheet (“WIS”) or call 585-484-7432 and request that the WIS be mailed to you.
Rochester Living Trust Lawyers
Experienced Rochester Living Trust Lawyers Serving Western New York
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Are you or a loved one in need of help regarding Estate Planning legal issues? Our experienced Buffalo lawyers have been dedicated to serving the Western New York community we know and love. Allow us to help you the same way we’ve been helping our community for decades. We’re here for you.
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4 Easy Steps to Prepare Your Will Without Leaving Your Home or Car
For your safety, we are offering remote or drive-up no-contact document signing during the COVID-19 crisis. We are available by phone or email at any time to answer your questions. These are the easy steps to have your will, power of attorney and health care proxy/living will prepared:
Return the Form
Return the WIS to us either electronically via online form, by scanned email, fax 716-542-4090 or by mail to POB 31, Akron, NY 14001.
Schedule an Appointment
When we receive your WIS, we will call you or email you to schedule an initial telephone conference.
Get Your Will
During the telephone conference, we will advise you when the documents will be mailed to you and the total fees which can be paid by check or any credit card at WNY-Lawyers.com.
Remote signing by Facetime, Skype, or other teleconferencing service.
A. You must affirmatively represent that you are physically situated in the State of New York.
B. You must transmit by fax or electronic means a legible copy of the signed document directly to us on the same date you signed it.
C. Mail the signed documents to our Akron office within seven days.
D. We will mail a copy of your will and the original notarized power of attorney and health care proxy to you
Remote no-contact signing in your car if you do not have access to Skype, Facetime, or other teleconferencing service:
A. Drive to one of our offices at the appointment time and stay in your car. For an additional charge, we can drive to your home.
B. Call our cell phone number and we will drive or walk up alongside your car.
C. We will speak via cell phones and observe the signing through the car windows.
D. Deposit the documents in our mailbox.
E. We will mail a copy of your will and the original notarized power if attorney and health care proxy to you.
What is a Living Trust?
An inter vivos trust (living trust) is created for holding ownership of your assets during your lifetime for the benefit of named beneficiaries and distributing those assets after your death. It may be revocable or irrevocable.
The grantor, is the person who creates the trust. The grantor will name an individual to serve as a successor trustee to follow the terms of the trust after the grantor dies. When the grantor is living they can serve as a trustee and control the assets even though they belong to the trust.
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FUNDING A TRUST IN NEW YORK
In order for a living trust to go into effect, the title to the grantor’s assets must be transferred into the trust. This means that titles to bank accounts, stock certificates or real estate owned by the grantor must be transferred into the trust. Just because you created a trust doesn’t mean the trust has become funded.
A New York resident executed a living trust agreement that simply recited that his house belonged to and had been assigned to the trust. However, at the time of his death no deed had actually been executed. Assets that are in a living or “inter vivos” trust avoid probate only if they have actually been transferred to the trust.
A deed is required to transfer real estate into a trust. Merely reciting in the trust agreement that assets are being assigned to or are held by the trust is insufficient for transferring them to the trust. Therefore, the NY Appellate Division, First Department ruled that the house is part of the probate estate, rather than part of the trust.
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Are you planning your estate and are in need of a living trust? Our experienced Rochester Living Trust Lawyers can help you navigate the process of establishing a living trust in New York.Client Reviews
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