How to Create a Low-Cost Living Trust Online (And Why Homeowners Need One)

 In this episode of The Retirement Guide, George Jameson, CFP® and founder of Capital Wealth Group, explains how to create a low-cost Living Trust online, and why it's especially important for homeowners. He walks you through the steps to set up a trust that can help avoid probate and ensure your assets are smoothly transferred to your loved ones. Whether you're considering a DIY approach or hiring an attorney, this episode breaks it all down. 

 Welcome to "The Retirement Guide" Podcast! I'm your host George Jameson, owner of Capital Wealth Group, a Fee Only Advisory firm. Whether you’re nearing retirement or already retired, Join me each week as we explore the world of retirement planning and equip you with the knowledge and tools you need for a successful retirement.

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This is for education only.It is not tax, legal, or investment advice. Before  acting on any information consult your tax, legal, or investment advisor.

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Transcript

                                    How to Create a Low-Cost Living Trust Online                                                                                       (And Why Homeowners Need One)

By: George Jameson, CFP®, MBA

Hey everyone, welcome back to the podcast! I’m George Jameson, CFP® and founder of Capital Wealth Group. Today, we’re diving into a really important topic—Revocable Living Trusts and more specifically how to set one up without hiring an expensive Attorney. Living Trusts can potentially save your family a lot of time, money, and stress down the road.

Now, before we get started, just a quick heads-up: I’m not an attorney, and everything we talk about today is for educational purposes. If your situation is more complicated—like if you’ve got multiple properties in different states, a large estate over the federal tax limit, or if you’re thinking about setting up an irrevocable trust or a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust—it’s a good idea to work with an experienced estate attorney. But for today, we’re talking about basic Living Trusts for those who own a home, maybe have some investments, maybe a local rental property—A simple Living Trust is a great way to pass on your Home and maybe a local rental home or two efficiently without dragging your family through probate. 

Today, I am talking about a very simple Living Trust. The main asset in your Trust will be your Home and maybe a rental home or two if you have one. All of your investments like IRAs, 401k’s, Roth IRA’s, brokerage accounts, and bank accounts can bypass probate because we will have beneficiaries attached to them. For the bank accounts, you will want to change them to POD Accounts Paid on Death accounts and add beneficiaries just like you do with your IRA’s and 401k’s. Brokerage accounts, your Advisor should have already set them up as TOD accounts. Transfer On Death with beneficiaries of your choice. POD’s and TOD’s will automatically bypass probate as well. So once you have all or most of your investable assets and cash set up to bypass probate the only assets left for most of us are our homes, cars, and personal belongings. 

And Yes, you can set up a bank account or investment account in the name of your trust or make the Trust your benenficiary on your IRA’s, but again if you want to get fancy or more complex you should hire an estate attorney. Our goal here, is to avoid probate and keep it simple. 

A lot of people first think about estate planning when they get married or have kids, and they make a basic Will, Power of Attorney, and name guardians for their kids. It works because they don’t have a lot of assets yet, and the risk of something happening is low. They should probably add some term life insurance and maybe disability insurance just in case.

Fast forward a few decades, and now you're nearing or in retirement with more assets—like a home, investments, or rental properties. That old Will is probably outdated, and the stakes are higher now. You might go back to your attorney, who offers options like a Trust, but when you see the $3,000+ price tag, you might just stick with updating the basics.

Here’s where things get tricky—when you pass away, anything without a named beneficiary is going through probate. Even if it’s just your home, probate can be a headache—expensive, slow, and public. Definitely not something you want your family dealing with during an already tough time.

So, let’s talk about probate. It can take up to a year or longer, often with high lawyer fees which can eat into your estate, and it’s all public, meaning anyone can see what’s in your estate. This process can cause unnecessary stress, family arguments, and delays. And even if you have a Will, everything still has to be approved by a judge, so there’s no guarantee things will go exactly as you planned.

This is where a Living revocable trust comes in—it can help you avoid probate altogether.

Now, why don’t more people set up trusts? Honestly, it’s the cost of hiring an attorney and most people think it’s too complicated to do it themselves. Working with an estate attorney to create a simple Living Trust often starts at $3,000 and goes up from there. For a lot of people, that’s just too much, so they stick with a Will.

But here’s the good news—you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars to set up a basic Living Trust. There are online tools that make it much more affordable today, usually between $300 and $600, and there’s even a free option.

The online service that I personally use with my clients is called Trust & Will. There are others sites out there as well and even one that’s free called LawDepot, though I haven’t personally used it. The reason I like Trust & Will is that I can actually help my clients through the process and see their progress in real-time. It’s user-friendly, and you can get live support if you need it. Plus, it’s still way cheaper than hiring an attorney. And no, I’m not getting paid to say this—it’s just what I recommend for a simple, affordable solution.

So, if you’re thinking about setting up a simple Living revocable trust to keep your home and maybe a few other assets from probate, I’ll walk you through how to do it step by step with Trust & Will. Ready to get started?

1.      Go to the Trust & Will Website: and check out their estate planning options. I recommend reading their material to get your familiar with Living Trusts and to make sure this is the right fit for you.

2.     Choose Your Trust: Decide which type of trust you need. They offer an individual trust for about  $500 and a couple's trust for $600. If you’re single, I’d recommend the individual trust. If you’re married, I recommend the couple’s trust. If you’ve got a more complex situation, though, you might want to hire an attorney.

3.     Create Your Account: Sign up on the platform. You’ll need to provide some basic info—like your name, date of birth, info about your spouse and kids—and then you’ll make a one-time payment. I like that there are not subscription fees etc. The package includes several important documents: a Revocable Living Trust, Pour Over Will, Advance Health Care Directive, Certification of Trust, Schedule of Assets, HIPAA Authorization, and Power of Attorney. Plus, you get one year of estate plan updates included.

4.    Fill Out the Questionnaire: Trust & Will will walk you through a questionnaire about your assets, beneficiaries, and how you want your estate handled. This is a key step because it customizes the trust to fit your needs.

5.     Customize Your Trust: You can tailor the trust to your situation—like naming guardians for your kids or pets, specifying any gifts, and laying out healthcare wishes. The platform offers guidance as you go, and they include a Pour-Over Will, which acts as a backup for any assets that don’t make it into the trust during your lifetime. However, the assets that don’t make it into the trust will still have to go through probate.

6.    Review Everything: Once you’ve completed the questionnaire, review your trust documents. If you need extra help, Trust & Will offers live support or even an attorney review for an additional fee.

7.     Print and Sign: After reviewing, print out the documents and sign them in front of a notary. Depending on your state, you might need a witness as well. This step makes everything legally binding.

8.    Fund the Trust: This part involves transferring your assets into the trust. For example, you’ll need to retitle your property in the name of the trust. Trust & Will gives you a Trust Funding Guide to help you through this. If you’re dealing with more complex assets like an LLC, multiple properties in various states, you should hire an estate attorney.

9.    Store Your Documents: Make sure to keep your signed trust documents in a safe spot and let your trustee and any key people know where to find them.

By following these steps, you’ll have a solid Living trust set up through Trust & Will. This can help avoid probate and ensure your assets are distributed the way you want. 

Next week, we’ll keep the conversation going about Living Trusts. I’ll dive into common mistakes to avoid, how to transfer assets like your home and personal belongings, and tips on choosing trustees and successor trustees. We’ll also talk about what shouldn’t go into a trust and different ways to set up your asset distribution.

Disclaimer
The information discussed in this podcast is for general explanations and education only. It is not tax, legal, or investment advice. Before considering acting on any information heard here, first consult with your tax, legal, or investment advisor. Thank you and have a great day. 

Learn more about Capital Wealth Groupand George Jameson, CFP®, MBA, a Financial Advisor based in Columbia, SC, CLICK HERE!

George can be reached at (803) 250-6464 orgeorge@capitalwealthplan.com

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