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Trust Law/Level IX · Trusts on chain/9.3 Full circle/Lesson 6

Where to go from here

Where to keep learning about trusts, how to find and check legal help at any budget, when to look at a plan again, and where this academy goes next.

Education, not legal advice. Trust law changes from country to country and state to state, and the right structure depends on your situation. Anything you sign should be drafted or reviewed by a qualified lawyer where you live.

The lean path

The cheapest, lowest-tax, simplest and most private route the law allows, best first. Each step names the rule it rests on and the condition that keeps it lawful.

  1. Read primary law for free: the Uniform Trust Code and RUFADAA at uniformlaws.org, your state’s enacted text on its legislature website, and IRS Publication 559 for estate returns. Catch: enacted versions differ from model acts, so note the state and year.
  2. Check eligibility for free legal aid: LSC-funded programs generally serve households at or below 125% of federal poverty guidelines, and law-school clinics prepare simple estate documents. Catch: not every program handles wills or trusts, so ask specifically.
  3. Before paying anyone, confirm their licence free on the state’s public lawyer records and ask exactly what the fee covers. Catch: a licence proves good standing, not trust expertise, and the FTC warned in 2000 about living-trust seminars selling annuities.
  4. Beneficiaries need not pay to stay informed: under UTC §813 they can request the trust instrument and receive at least annual reports. Catch: in states following the revocable-trust rule, these duties run only to the settlor while the settlor lives.

MaterialsThe Uniform Trust Code text and enactment information, free from the Uniform Law Commission at uniformlaws.orgIRS Publication 559, Survivors, Executors, and Administrators, free on irs.gov and revised for each tax yearYour state or local bar association’s consumer guides and lawyer referral service, and the American Bar Association’s directory of free legal helpLegal aid programs and law-school clinics near you or, in England and Wales, Citizens Advice and local law centres

Wonder

  1. Where can someone read the actual text of a trust law instead of a summary of it?
  2. How can a person check that a lawyer is licensed before paying for anything?
  3. What kinds of events make it worth looking at a plan again?

Explore

  1. This course has explained trust law in general terms; it has not given legal or tax advice. For further study, many primary texts are free. The Uniform Law Commission publishes the Uniform Trust Code, approved in 2000 and enacted in some form in about 36 states plus the District of Columbia, at uniformlaws.org, along with other acts discussed in this course, such as RUFADAA. A state’s enacted version can differ from the model act, so the state’s own statutes, usually published on its legislature’s website, are the text that applies there.
  2. The Restatements of the Law, published by the American Law Institute, summarise US common law; the Restatement (Third) of Trusts appeared in volumes between 2003 and 2012. Restatements are not statutes and do not bind courts, though courts often cite them as persuasive. They are sold rather than free, but many law libraries hold them, and some law libraries are open to the public. For US federal tax, the IRS publishes free guidance on irs.gov, such as Publication 559, Survivors, Executors, and Administrators, which covers a decedent’s final income tax return and the estate’s income tax return, and pages on estate and gift taxes.
  3. Help exists at every income level (lesson 2.2.7). In the US, the Legal Services Corporation funds civil legal aid programs that generally serve households at or below 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines; law-school clinics, supervised by licensed attorneys, prepare simple estate documents for people who qualify; and state and local bar associations run lawyer referral services and publish consumer guides. The American Bar Association keeps a directory of free legal help by state. In England and Wales, Citizens Advice and local law centres give free general advice. Not every program handles wills or trusts, so it helps to ask specifically.
  4. Before hiring anyone, it helps to ask about their experience with trusts in your state, what a fee covers, who will help fund a trust, and why they might serve as trustee (lesson 2.2.6). Each US state keeps public records of whether a lawyer is admitted and in good standing, and the ABA’s FindLegalHelp.org lists where to check in each state. The check confirms a licence, not knowledge of trusts. In 2000 testimony, the Federal Trade Commission warned that some living-trust seminars and offers exaggerate the benefits and are used to sell other products, such as annuities; anyone pressed to sign can take the papers away and check first.
  5. Plans can go out of date. Marriage, divorce, births, deaths, moves, changes in assets and changes in the law are common reasons to look again (lesson 3.1.6). Tax figures, such as federal exemption amounts, change by year and by law, so any figure is only as good as the year it names. Beneficiaries have ways to stay informed too: under Uniform Trust Code §813, a trustee must keep qualified beneficiaries reasonably informed and send current beneficiaries a report at least annually. Whatever the source, it helps to note the jurisdiction and the year of a rule before relying on it, because most rules differ by place.
  6. This academy has two companions on the same site. The Blockchain Academy covers the technical side of keys, consensus and smart contracts that Level IX builds on. The Library gathers every document the lessons cite in one place; each entry opens the document and leads back to the lessons that use it. Trust law varies by jurisdiction and changes over time, shields can fail and mistakes can be expensive, so the course’s habits still apply: name the place, check the date, read the primary text and, where the stakes are high, seek advice from someone qualified in that jurisdiction.

Key facts

  • The Uniform Trust Code, approved by the Uniform Law Commission in 2000, has been enacted in some form in about 36 states plus the District of Columbia.
  • Restatements of the Law, published by the American Law Institute, are not binding law, though courts often cite them as persuasive.
  • IRS Publication 559 covers survivors, executors and administrators, including a decedent’s final income tax return and the estate’s income tax return.
  • LSC-funded programs generally serve households with income at or below 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.
  • Each US state keeps public records of whether a lawyer is licensed and in good standing; the check confirms a licence, not knowledge of trusts.
  • In 2000 testimony, the US Federal Trade Commission warned that some living-trust seminars and offers exaggerate the benefits and are used to sell other products.

Exercise nine, six, three, one

9CollectList up to 9 resources or review triggers described in this lesson or a source you are reading (some sources give fewer), such as a uniform act, an IRS publication, a legal aid program, a lawyer licence check or a life event.
6ClusterSort them into 6 categories: primary legal texts, secondary sources, tax guidance, free and low-cost help, checking an adviser, and review triggers.
3DistillReduce the 6 categories to 3 groups: where to read the law, where to find help, and when to look again.
1CrystallizeWrite 1 sentence explaining, in your own words, why the text of a model act may not be the law that applies in a particular state.

Fact check

Dates, figures and claims checked against the published sources listed below.

Open in the interactive academy →

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