# Legal advice \[Setting up a trust\]

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-advice-setting-up-a-trust/781226>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [March 2, 2017, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-advice-setting-up-a-trust/781226 "2017-03-02T18:27:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-advice-setting-up-a-trust/781226/1 "2017-03-02T18:27:16Z")

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Okay, so I’m about to buy the farm. The farm my parents have in the Pacific Northwest. It’s small, 30 Acres, and my mom will hold the note. We’d like to set it up so that after my mom passes away, the mortgage payments would then go into a trust which would accrue through the year, then pay out to the siblings at the end of the year, each year until the mortgage is paid off.

So ,my question is, should I be talking with an Estate Lawyer, or a Real Estate lawyer?

Also, is there a Yelp for attorneys?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

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**Author:** ![wellanuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@wellanuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wellanuff)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2017, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-advice-setting-up-a-trust/781226/2 "2017-03-03T02:48:14Z")

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Estate lawyer, probably. IANAL. Depending on your situation and your state’s laws and the value of the property and the price your mom purchased it for, blah, blah, blah, the estate lawyer might have suggestions on how to structure the transaction in a way that saves your mom capital gains tax or lessens future inheritance taxes or something, and the best way to handle the mortgage payments after your mom passes.

My reasoning: An estate lawyer is probably going to be familiar with real estate transactions (estates that require a lawyer frequently have real estate in them) while a real estate lawyer is not necessarily going to know the ins and outs of estates and inheritances and related tax laws.

Just my two cents.

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**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2017, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-advice-setting-up-a-trust/781226/3 "2017-03-03T02:52:28Z")

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I edited the title for clarity.

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**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2017, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-advice-setting-up-a-trust/781226/4 "2017-03-03T14:56:47Z")

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Thank you!

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**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2017, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-advice-setting-up-a-trust/781226/5 "2017-03-03T16:36:22Z")

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Just throwing this out there. Wouldn’t it be better if you simply refinanced upon her death (with the principle reduced by your share of the inheritance) and paid your siblings the full amount of their share? I would resent having my inheritance dribbled out to me over the term of my brother’s mortgage. Especially if he had full use of his share (the use of the farm) right away. Not trying to threadshit, and you seem to already have a useful reply.
