“I GOT A FLYER IN THE MAIL FOR A TRUST SEMINAR AT A RESTAURANT. INCLUDES A FREE BREAKFAST. THEY SAY THEY ONLY CHARGE $499. IS THIS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE?”
Be careful with these types of pitches, often coming from “Trust Mill” operations. They often target Senior Citizens. Many of these operations are scams to get access to your financial and investment information so they can either sell you something or flip your current investments into something else. Some of these flyers even say at the bottom, “Your Trust will be delivered by an Insurance Agent”. Now why would an Insurance Agent deliver your trust to you? What do Insurance Agents sell? They sell Annuities that earn big commissions! In other words, with these types of operations, the goal is often to sell an investment under the guise of estate planning. Many don’t know this, but it’s illegal to provide any legal advice regarding estate planning unless you are a licensed attorney in California.
Am I saying that if you received a flyer advertising a Living Trust at a seminar for $499 that it is a scam? No, I’m not saying that. What I am saying is investigate the offer very carefully and make sure it is run by a licensed attorney that will meet with you personally and draft all of your documents correctly. Be on the lookout for sales pitches from “investment advisors”, “Estate Planning advisors”, or whatever they call themselves this week.
Here is a direct quote from the Department of Justice for the State of California:
“Companies advertising “living trusts” sometimes misrepresent the advantages of living trusts. But the most serious problem is the misuse of the financial information sales persons obtain to prepare a living trust. Unfortunately, this information is used to sell unneeded annuities and various investments, most often to senior citizens. Sales agents for these operations often misrepresent the disadvantages of seniors’ current investments and the advantages of the investments the agents are selling. They may even make seniors believe their bank accounts are less safe than the annuities or other investments they want seniors to buy.”
Read the complete information on the Justice Department website here:
https://oag.ca.gov/consumers/general/living_trust_mills
Or, if you want to read all day, do a Google search on “Trust Mill Scams.”
Give my office a call today at 909-754-8370 for a free telephone consultation.
Serving San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, and L.A. Counties for over 20 years