Authorities say a typical operator is the Orlando-based American Senior Citizens Alliance. The Florida Attorney General’s Office says it plans to sue the company, alleging it uses misleading scare tactics in its sales presentations. Its pitch is for living trusts, which allow a person to bypass probate court and transfer assets directly to heirs upon death. It’s no secret that probating a will can be troublesome; it can create big legal bills and tie up an estate for months. But state officials say that companies like ASCA wildly exaggerate the downside of probate in pursuit of the sale. The Orlando outfit allegedly offers three packages, priced from $995 to $1,495. “If you walk into a lawyer’s office in Orlando, you’d probably spend $350 to $500 to prepare a living trust,” says Assistant Attorney General Jacqueline Dowd. The company wouldn’t comment.
Living trusts aren’t for everybody your need for one depends on the complexity of your estate and your state’s probate process. Furthermore, people who could benefit from a living trust shouldn’t settle for the one-size-fits-all documents these outfits peddle. The best advice to seniors who want to set up a living trust: ignore the door-to-door sales pitch and find a lawyer.
