A lot of people ask whether they can download a form from the Internet or maybe go to an office supply store and get a piece of software and create their own trust.
The answer is yes, you can do that, but it’s not advisable. And the reason that it’s not advisable is trusts are complex documents. It’s nothing that you would necessarily want to do yourself. It’s similar to putting a roof on your house. You could certainly do it on your own if you have the skill, the knowledge, and the know how and the tools. But unless you have all of those things, it’s likely that the job won’t be well done. The same applies with a trust. You can certainly do it. But what I’ve seen time and time again is that people have DIY trusts that they do on their own, and for some reason the trust fails. Or there’s a controversy about the trust. There’s a dispute about what the trust actually says or what the person’s actual intent was. And it’s not too far of a stretch to say that the road to the courthouse is paved with the paper from trust that people have done on their own.
So while, yes, you can create your own trust, I would not advise that you do so. It’s important to hire a knowledgeable professional to help you, because the stakes are too high. You’re talking about protecting yourself. You’re talking about protecting your loved ones, and you want to make sure that what you have in place will take care of them when the time comes.
If you’d like to schedule a time to talk about whether a revocable living trust is right for you, please click the link below and we’d be happy to schedule up a time to meet. I’m Matthew Crider, and thank you for watching.
