I am looking to get my living trust done as part of my year-end goal. Has anyone done business with David Foley, the attorney at http://www.californialivingtrusts.com/? It appears that he has pretty decent price $495 for the living trust package which include transferring the home deed to the trust. Also, any recommendation for a good attorney to get a living trust from is appreciated. Thanks in advance
As an attorney, I would be *very* reluctant to advertise a fixed price such as mr foley does. What if a dr said he’d fix a runny nose for $100? A runny nose can be a cold but can also be a symptom of a brain tumor. Ethically, you are obligated to do the best job possible for the client once you have a chosen to represent him or her – but what if the best job takes 20 hrs and you’re only getting paid for one ….?
If you read through it, the price includes an amount to teach you how to do it yourself. Is that really what you want? See if you can contact a law professor (such as one at USD) who teaches trusts and estates and see if they can give you a recommendation.
Typically, when an attorney advertises a fixed fee for a trust, they will try to sell you an insurance product or something else to make up for the trust. I’d recommend just budgeting say 1k-2k depending on how complex your situation is.
It should also take a few conversations to get all the info.
[quote=njtosd]As an attorney, I would be *very* reluctant to advertise a fixed price such as mr foley does. What if a dr said he’d fix a runny nose for $100? A runny nose can be a cold but can also be a symptom of a brain tumor. Ethically, you are obligated to do the best job possible for the client once you have a chosen to represent him or her – but what if the best job takes 20 hrs and you’re only getting paid for one ….?
If you read through it, the price includes an amount to teach you how to do it yourself. Is that really what you want? See if you can contact a law professor (such as one at USD) who teaches trusts and estates and see if they can give you a recommendation.[/quote]
Thanks so much for your input. I will have to look at the “fine print” as I was under an impression that the trust will be done by the attorney office including transferring the title of one real estate to the trust.
This was several years ago – I think we paid $1200 for trust, transfer of deed, durable POAs, medical directives, etc.
probably not the bare bones minimum, but we had some issues that were unique to us. (Every family has unique issues to their family)… She was able to give us advise on how to address our concerns, and craft language in the trust to satisfy it. We met with her 4-5 times before it was all done.
In some things, you get what you pay for. We got a good product, good advise, and good service.
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