Law Office of Christina Gorokhovsky

Category: Uncategorized

  • Do I Need a Revocable or Irrevocable Trust?

    Do I need a Revocable or Irrevocable Trust?

    People sometimes tell me that they want to create an irrevocable trust. What they really mean is that they want to create a revocable trust (also called a living trust) that cannot be changed after they pass away.

    What, then, is an irrevocable trust?

    Trusts that are created from the start as irrevocable trusts are not very common. This is because, once created, an irrevocable trust cannot be changed, modified or cancelled. These trusts have significant tax consequences, and so they are usually tax motivated. Since most people don’t have assets approaching the current estate tax exemption of $11M per person or $22M for a couple, estate taxes are not a concern for most of us. Sometimes though, dynasty and income tax planning are a motivating factor in a creating an irrevocable trust.

    Reach out to me here to talk about what best suits your needs.

  • DIY Estate Planning

    DIY Estate Planning

    March 2026, we are revisiting some oldie but goodie blog posts. Here’s one of our very first on this page with some refreshment. Enjoy!

    Occasionally people ask about creating a Will or Trust without an attorney. The answer is, it depends.

    A person can handwrite a will without an attorney and I’m sure there are even YouTube videos on how to do it. In fact, in Canada, following a horrible accident, a farmer scratched his Last Will into a tractor fender and it was enough to pass on his estate.

    However, just like cutting your own hair, just because you can does not mean you should. Sure, it works out great for some but is embarrassing for most of us.

    In estate planning, there are a lot of moving parts. First, there is more to an estate plan than a Will. For example, there are powers of attorney, guardianship, and custodianship considerations, among other things. Each of these comes with decisions and strategies to consider.

    Not only that, even the law governing simple Wills is not that simple. Case in point, England’s gift to American probate law, the Rule Against Perpetuities. Put simply, this prohibits a trust from lasting forever and ever, well, into perpetuity. It dates back to the 1680s and confounds even experienced lawyers so often that the California Supreme Court ruled in Lucas v. Hamm, 56 Cal.2d 583 that it is not malpractice if a California attorney misinterprets it!  

    You may think that since I am an estate planning lawyer, it’s in my best interest to tell you to get a lawyer to draft your estate plan. And that would be true. But, I have also represented trustees tasked with administering DIY Trusts and I can say that DIY Trusts are very good for business. This is because regular folks, and even sometimes lawyers who dabble in estate planning, make lots of mistakes. Don’t notice the gaps they leave and the inconsistencies and ambiguities they create. Resolving these when the DIY-er is no longer around can be a profitable undertaking.

    Botched, incomplete or invalid wills usually turn up in the lawyer’s office after it’s too late and the drafter has died. The children and heirs end up paying much more than the cost of preparing a plan. In addition to attorney’s fees, they pay with their time, emotional and mental frustration, and, sometimes, ruined family relationships.

    Recently, a task force assembled by the American Bar Association issued a statement on whether people should attempt doing their own estate plan. Their answer is that it might be okay in some circumstances but that it’s probably not a good idea. You can read the ABA article here.

    To find out how I can help your with your estate plan, contact me here or call me at 650.636.7247.