From: Canuck57@nospam.com   
      
   On 13/05/2013 10:04 AM, Alan Bowler wrote:   
   > On 5/12/2013 7:08 PM, BT wrote:   
   >> My mother is a US citizen/Canadian resident (in B.C.).  I am a US   
   >> citizen and resident, and will be her sole heir.  Her tax attorney   
   >> suggests placing her house in a trust to avoid probate.  I know this is   
   >> a common strategy in the states, but I don't know what the implications   
   >> are for either my mother's US return (she files in both countries) or my   
   >> eventual inheritance with a Canadian trust.  (FYI, her total estate will   
   >> not approach the US estate tax threshold).  Her tax attorney makes no   
   >> claims re: US taxes.   
   >>   
   >> So, if someone here knows about this, does the trust sound like a good   
   >> plan in this case?  Any red flags here?  Any questions I should put to   
   >> her lawyer before he goes forward with this plan?   
   >   
   > Probate fees can be considered a tax, but are not really   
   > onerous.  (1->2%)   
   >   
   > Will the lawyer's fees for setting up the trust and other   
   > recurring administration fees (costs of annual tax filings etc.)   
   > exceed the proe costs?   
      
   Good reply.   
      
   But I might add in family dynamics.  It is much easier for a legal mess   
   and spurned family to get a lawyer and screw things up when using a   
   standard will and probate courts. It is easier to dispute in a probate   
   court than with trust laws.   
      
   Trusts have the advantage of being harder to break from the original   
   intent.  If in a trust, it was done while the person was alive, it   
   becomes much harder to mess with.   
      
   But costs, as you point out are a real determining factor.  You are not   
   going to do the trust for a $200k estate, but for $22M and lots of   
   relatives, you sure would be advised to look at a trust as an option.   
   --   
   Liberal-socialism is a great idea so long as the credit is good and   
   other people pay for it.  When the credit runs out and those that pay   
   for it leave, they can all share having nothing but debt and discontentment.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)