Estate attorneys compare value of living trusts to traditional wills
By Angela Randazzo Special to the Acorn

Have you designated how your personal property will be distributed after your death? Do you have a provision that names guardians for minor children, or one designed to eliminate or minimize estate taxes?

Attorneys Christopher Botti and Paul Morison answered these questions and others in a free workshop on estate planning at the Courtyard Marriott in Simi Valley last weekend.

Botti and Morison recommended drawing up a living trust instead of the more traditional will.

"People walk away from the workshop armed with information on what a living trust provides," Botti said. "If you listen, you realize what a trust provides. It's almost a no-brainier."

Around 20 people, including Moorpark teacher Kathy Hancock, attended the two-hour workshop.

"It's important to protect our assets and make things easier for our children," Hancock said.

The attorneys are partners at Botti & Morison, a law firm specializing in estate planning. Both graduated from Whittier College School of Law in Los Angeles before becoming partners 10 years ago.

The objective of the workshop, Botti said, is to make the dispersal of an estate easy and efficient and to instruct attendees on how to make sure their last wishes are followed.

"Estate planning is a favorite topic of procrastination. No one wants to think about dying," Botti said. "On the national average, if you look at baby boomers- that huge population base- only 2 percent even have a will."

According to the attorneys, if you have a will, the estate must go through probate before the heirs are awarded the estate's assets.

"Probate is a formal procedure in Superior Court and you need a lawyer. On average in Ventura County the process takes about two years," Morison said. "During that period of administration the assets are frozen so no heirs can get the assets until the judge signs off on the dispersal."

Legal fees based on the gross value of the decedent's estate must be paid to the attorney. Those fees, which are determined on a sliding scale, average 4 to 5 percent of the estate. With a living trust, those costs can be avoided, Morison said.

San Diego attorney Michael Walters conducted the workshop, explaining the benefits of a living trust.

"A will gives you the right to say who gets your stuff, but you still have to go through probate," Walters said. "The advantage of a living trust is you can avoid that. You are the trustee of your trust unless you state otherwise."

Walters enumerated the documents needed and told what each document covers. He also explained the tax and medical benefits of drawing up a living trust.

"A living trust is not just for rich people," Morison said. "It's for anyone who has assets, especially if they own a house in Southern California."

The attorneys offer a substantial discount on the cost of drawing up a living trust to anyone who attends the free workshop. For those clients the cost is $1,350 for a single person and $1,750 for a married couple.

"The workshops make it efficient for us, so we don't have to explain everything to an individual client," Morison said. "The fee includes all the documents and all the talk time you need with us during the process or five years down the road."

Often an event such as the death in the family or a health crisis triggers an individual to plan their estate. The attorneys find once that step is taken, the client is relieved of a burden.

"The most common reaction is a weight being lifted. This 'trust' will work; it can be amended easily," Botti said. "'I don't have to worry about it anymore. My family's protected, let's move on.'" The next Botti & Morison workshop in Simi Valley will be in July or August.