Joseph R Burcke, LLC

07/10/2025

12/22/2024

10/08/2021

What Are Trusts? Why Should We Use Them?

Trusts avoid the need for a conservatorship in the event someone suffers a substantial disability and prevents the need for a probate estate administration upon death. Think of a trust as a wagon. The purpose of the wagon is to carry your assets past the probate court upon disability or death so that you don’t have to enter the probate court which has a very expensive cost of admission. The concept of how a trust operates is like a triangle. The points of a triangle are the positions inherent in every trust. The grantors or settlors are the people who create the trust. The trustees are the people who manage the assets that are placed in the trust. And, the beneficiaries are the people for whom the trust has been created, who receive the benefits of the trust. When a trust is created, you hold all three positions. You create the trust. You have exclusive control of your assets once they’re in the trust. As a result, you and your family members are the exclusive beneficiaries of that trust once it’s created. Learn here:

https://burckelaw.com/what-are-trusts-why-should-we-use-them/

10/01/2021

What Should Be The Ultimate Goal Of Proper Estate Planning? What Should Your Plan Accomplish?

An estate plan should accomplish several things. In the short-term, it should address issues that relate to the possibility of disability for you, your spouse, and/or your children. For the long-term, an estate plan should address how to maximize the value of your life’s work, and best protect those people about whom you most care. In regard to the short term, many people have a serious misconception as to what happens if they become substantially disabled. They think that if they become disabled, their spouse or a loved one will take control of their assets and administer them for the benefit of the disabled person. This is particularly true for married couples when they have joint tenancy ownership of bank and brokerage accounts because these assets are immediately available to either joint tenant. However, the problem is that beyond those asset categories, the opposite occurs. If a joint tenant becomes disabled, the asset becomes locked as to all joint tenants. Learn here:

https://burckelaw.com/what-should-be-the-ultimate-goal-of-proper-estate-planning-what-should-your-plan-accomplish/

09/23/2021

Living Trust Planning – If you want to develop a legally enforceable plan for your future, consider an estate plan with a living will or trust. Joseph R. Burcke, L.L.C. offers assistance with living trust planning in St. Louis, Missouri and the surrounding area.
Living trust planning helps you by…

• Providing for you in the event of a substantial disability.
• Creating a distribution plan for your assets and income.
• Helping you avoid probate procedures.
Learn more:

https://burckelaw.com/living-trust-planning/

09/16/2021

What Are Some Of The Specific Types Of Trusts? Watch to learn:

https://vimeo.com/440891004

The most common trusts are probate avoidance trusts, Medicaid qualification trusts, and one other trust that is used for qualified retirement benefits to protect…

09/13/2021

Are Assets Held In A Trust Protected From Creditors? Watch to learn:

https://vimeo.com/515724185

In Missouri, you can create several different types of trust that will protect assets from creditors. But in a basic living trust, probate avoidance, or revocable…

09/13/2021

What Happens In Trust Administration And How Does That Compare With Probate? What Actually Takes Place After Someone Passes? Watch to learn:

https://vimeo.com/515722599

In a trust administration, as soon as the successor trustee procures a death certificate for the individual, they go around to third-parties, banks, brokers, insurance…

08/27/2021

Do I Lose Control Over My Assets Once I Put Them Into A Trust? Can I Change The Terms Of A Trust? Watch to learn:

https://vimeo.com/515725357

With the basic probate avoidance trust, which is often called a revocable trust or a living trust, you, as the creator of the trust, settlor, or grantor, have complete…

08/20/2021

What Are Trusts? Why Should We Use Them? Learn here:

https://vimeo.com/440891018

Trusts avoid the need for a conservatorship in the event someone suffers substantial disability and prevents the need for a probate estate administration upon death

08/13/2021

What Exactly Is A Will And Does This Need To Be Part Of Everyone’s Estate Planning Documents? Watch to learn:

https://vimeo.com/440891038

A will is nothing more than an instruction sheet for your chosen personal representative and the probate judge for the administration of your estate inside the probate…

08/06/2021

When Is The Best Time To Start Planning? Is It Ever Too Late?

Watch here:

https://vimeo.com/440890984

It’s never too late or too early to start planning.