[blindlaw] putting a house in trust

[Mike Gilmore]

Hi everyone,

I'm a licensed attorney in Virginia and my father lives in California.  He asked me the process in California for putting his home into trust for my brother and myself.

Can he draw up a trust document himself stating what he wants to do with the house (i.e., put it in trust, for whom, and whom the trustee can be)?  He asked me if I could be the trustee.  I'm a little leary because I would think a beneficiary as trustee would create ethical problems.  (I already told him I wouldn't be his executor since I'm a lawyer and I didn't feel comfortable administering the will when I'm also an inheritor--kinda thought that was unethical.)

Any advice/assistance on these trust issues would be very much appreciated.

Thanks.

Mike