Trust Placed under Different Name

• Applicant: Will Shen
• Nationality:
• Applying for: Trust
• Challenges:
  • Trust was placed under a different name.
  • The County recorder wanted evidence that the beneficiaries were related to Mr. Shen before approving the trust.
  • Beneficiaries do not live in the United States.

BACKGROUND

Will had been a faithful son to his parents all his life. A smart, capable young man, he knew how to handle finances responsibly. It was for this reason that his parents decided to set up a trust and give him control of their property in Los Angeles since they lived out of the country.

Ordinarily, this arrangement could be set up easily by a notary, but Will’s parents wanted something a little different. Because they were a relatively well-known family in their home country, they did not want to have any liability associated with them, so they wanted the trust to be put under a different name.

Since this would make things a lot more complicated, the family turned to Tsang & Associates for legal advice, mainly to make sure they were doing everything correctly, and we were more than happy to assist.

KEYS TO SUCCESS

Originally, the parents intended to do most of the work themselves. They downloaded the trust forms online and filled them out, and simply wanted a second opinion from our team to make sure all their bases were covered. But when the trust was brought to the Los Angeles County Recorder for approval, the Office of Assessor wanted proof that Will was in fact related to the beneficiaries.

The parents were dismayed by this turn of events, and since they did not live in the U.S., they were unable to present the evidence themselves. Luckily, since we were already familiar with the case, our team was able to quickly collect proof that Will was the son of his parents, and we explained explicitly to the Assessor why the trust was not put in the family name.

OUTCOME

Once the misunderstanding was cleared up, the Assessor’s office approved the trust, and everything was able to move forward as planned. Will’s parents were very grateful for our assistance and we’re glad that they had decided to work with us. They told us that Tsang & Associates went above and beyond what they had hired us for, and we demonstrated a dedication to clients that were unparalleled in the legal world. They looked forward to working with us again in the future.