When considering an estate plan, it is usually wiser to deal with an estate planning attorney.
My San Antonio recently published the article “‘Trust mill’ scam hits elderly hard” explaining why the elderly need to be on the lookout for scams.
According to the article, a reader wrote in to ask questions about an estate plan his parents had purchased from what they thought was an attorney in Dallas.
When the man’s father passed away, his mother could not find the original documents. However, she was able to receive copies of a will, revocable trust and general durable power of attorney from the party that sold them to the couple.
The reader wanted to know if the copies could be used in place of the originals.
What happened next is all too common.
The columnist consulted with the state bar and learned quickly that there was no Dallas attorney. The person who sold the couple the documents had never been an attorney. It was actually a salesperson hired by a company to sell elderly people so-called estate plans.
Companies known as “Trust Mills” sell people form estate documents, which leave the victims thinking that they have good estate plans.
They do not.
They have one-size fits all documents that are often more worthless than the paper on which they are printed.
Reference: My San Antonio (Dec. 15, 2016) “‘Trust mill’ scam hits elderly hard.”
