Even though everybody can do it, dying isn't very easy. One of the most difficult things about mortality is trying to make plans for what comes after. You might want to pass on wealth to your heirs without taxes taking a crushing toll. You might want to provide financial security to a spouse or to someone else not capable of taking care of themselves. But to get everything right involves time and money dealing with the government and lawyers.
LivingTrustBuilder from JIAN suggests a solution to some of these hassles: setting up a living trust. A living trust is a legal document that transfers ownership of property that you designate (money, real estate, home, etc.) from individual ownership under your name to a trust controlled by you, which offers several advantages in terms of probate costs, taxes, and flexibility. LivingTrustBuilder includes a book, Understanding Living Trusts by Vickie and Jim Schumacher, a manual, and a disk with a number of text files of various documents needed in the process of setting up a living trust.
Note, however, what LivingTrustBuilder does not include: a program. LivingTrustBuilder is merely a collection of documents on disk, along with instructions for various word processors for using search and replace functions to fill in various "blanks" with the correct names, dates, and items to personalize these documents. It does not guide you through the process of setting up a trust, except insofar as the Schumacher book--a very basic guide--provides information. It does not perform any sort of tax or financial calculations. In fact, it does not do much of anything.
Moreover, the usefulness of what it does include--the documents--is questionable. Although the documentation seems to suggest that this package will save you time and money, it cautions you at every step to see a qualified estate planning attorney. In fact, it even includes a document for you to print out and give to your attorney, admitting that "the preparation of any estate planning documents, especially those related to living trusts, requires the skill and experience of a practicing attorney." The letter notes that the documents might not be appropriate for clients' needs, might not satisfy state or federal laws, and might not have any particular state or federal tax effect.
In fact, these documents are the sort of prepared documents of which most qualified estate planning attorneys will already have their own versions, with which they are more familiar, and which may well be more applicable to your own particular needs. They might also have access to the more sophisticated and expensive software, designed primarily for attorneys, that can actually do some of the calculations necessary. It is difficult to see exactly what this saves you in terms of time or expense.
In actuality, LivingTrustBuilder seems more predatory, feeding on those who are not comfortable dealing with lawyers or wills. It offers the promise of saving money and hassle, but for $140, all you get is a $20 book and some documents that any lawyer--which you will still have to see--will already have or can easily draw up. Regardless of how useful or beneficial a living trust may be, buying this program is not the useful or beneficial way to set one up.--Mark Pitcavage
