Morrison guides clients through establishing a trust

Attorney Carl Morrison has been practicing estate planning and probate for many years and has helped a wide variety of families successfully establish a trust through the legal system. Some of the families are small with not many beneficiaries, and some have blended and merged families with many contingencies to consider.

“Planning for asset allocation after one’s own death is not the most pleasant task, but you need to,” said Morrison. A positive perspective on estate planning would be to “prepare one’s trust for the beneficiaries, making sure they receive the assets that you have worked so hard to protect.”

Sometimes seniors are frugal when it comes to hiring a trust attorney, but Morrison emphasized that having a professional make sure that after clarifying the specifics of the trust, the correct documents get recorded and filed, saves a lot of time and money in the long run. The probate process can cost a lot more in money and time than investing in the service of an estate planner. Although the Internet offers information and some forms, there are certain required documents which only an attorney can provide.

Priding himself on establishing detailed and communicatively strong relationships with each client, Morrison (who is fluent in Spanish) said that he does far more than just document exchange. There is actual counseling that he provides every estate owner: giving them options, advice and making the overall experience as comfortable and comprehensible as possible. Morrison’s dedication and concern for elderly clients will sometimes even involve a house call.

One of the biggest issues in formulating a trust nowadays is longevity, and sometimes beneficiaries can mentally abuse the elderly by manipulation. Most often it comes from those who have addictions to support and behave dishonestly so they can obtain the assets. Adult children need to take a more active role and make sure the estate planning is done correctly.

Sometimes there are lots of amendments. Whenever an amendment to a trust is significant, such as a disinheritance, special care must be taken as to how one informs the family members of the change, and especially to not keep old copies of a trust which are now invalid and only add to confusion. One instance that Morrison referred to, involved a misinterpretation between an estranged child and an old copy of a trust. By the time the legal battle proved she had no inheritance, the other siblings had already committed quite a bit of money to prove so in court.

Morrison said, “I bring emotions to the table sometimes by being honest with a client who may be upset with a child and threatening to disinherit them, but then there are always repercussions down the line, such as not being able to see the grandkids, etc.” Because it is so important that family members in the trust are protected, he confirms that the client’s wishes are well thought out and not made by acting purely on emotion.

Morrison underlined two important topics; he advises that an older person should never compromise the equity in their home to help an adult child with an investment, and that money can truly be the root of all evil when it comes to affecting families in a negative way. There must be clarification in a trust as to who receives what and when it will happen. Even the best family relationships can be tested when there is inheritance involved.

If the trust owner is not able to continue to make decisions about their physical health or financial assets, then a conservatorship can be established. However, if estate planning is executed properly, a conservatorship may never be needed.

Morrison also is very experienced with unscrambling the challenges of easements, land-use planning, zoning and landlord -tenant issues. “Some landlords decide to draft their own documents, which usually is quite risky. Not securing a promissory note with the deed of trust or not having it recorded properly and taking no down payment from a buyer in a desperation to sell while financing the buyer, are among many problems of not consulting legal counsel.” he said.

Morrison assists public agencies through his environmental consulting firm, often involving travel. A pilot himself, Morrison serves as legal counsel for the California Wing of the Civil Air Patrol and volunteers as a mission pilot for search and rescue operations.

Morrison Law is located in River Village Plaza, 5256 S. Mission Road, Suite 1010, Bonsall. Visit http://www.morrison-law.net to view important articles, legal terminology and more. To speak with Carl Morrison, call (760) 724-9580 or email [email protected].