          
          
          
          Trusts Come in Many Forms:
          
          
                There are numerous specific types of trusts, each
          type characterized by different objectives and
          variables in the trust declaration terms, each with its
          own advantages, problems and tax results.  At various
          stages of a person's economic life, one or more types
          of trusts may be appropriate, and as circumstances
          change, new ones might well be needed.
               Perhaps the most common use of trusts occurs in
          estate planning where a trust can serve as an effective
          way to pass title to property, while avoiding lengthy
          and complicated probate court procedures and
          confiscatory inheritance taxes when the property owner
          dies.  Nationally, in the United States, probate fees
          alone (exclusive of federal and state death taxes),
          average from one to 15 percent of the gross value of
          the entire estate, a enormous sum in many cases - and
          that much less for the heirs.  The time-consuming
          probate process in some states, such as California, can
          require up to two years to complete.
               A trust once established, especially if operative
          for a reasonable period of time, is less likely to be
          challenged in court as compared to a will which is far
          more susceptible to a contest during probate.  The
          existence of a previously created trust is evidence of
          the grantor's sound mind and careful planning, an
          obvious defense to the charge of mental incompetency,
          often the basis for attacking the validity of a will,
          especially one written late in life.
          
          
          
