Estate Planning News

Attorney General Corbett files second suit alleging "Living Trust" sales scheme; Court asked to shutdown operation after new reports of deception

HARRISBURG - Attorney General Tom Corbett today announced that a second civil lawsuit has been filed against the operators of a living trust sales scheme, who are accused of deceiving elderly consumers into purchasing Revocable Living Trusts and other estate planning products that pay the sellers high commissions, but may not be in the consumers' best interest.

The Attorney General's Charitable Trusts and Organizations Section simultaneously filed a motion for special injunction and for preliminary injunction that asks the court to immediately require that the defendants cease all illegal operations until the lawsuits are decided.  A Commonwealth Court hearing on the motion is set for 10 a.m. Wed. May 3.

The suit identifies 11 defendants, including Montgomery County lawyer Brett B. Weinstein, who was named in the Attorney General's original October 2004 complaint. Corbett said this latest legal action follows an investigation into additional complaints from elderly consumers, who claimed that they were defrauded by the defendants.

Both legal actions accuse the defendants of intentionally deceiving consumers into believing that they were receiving competent legal and impartial estate planning advice, when in reality, they were coaxed or deceived into purchasing only the products that the defendants sold.
 
According to the complaint, the defendants market their estate planning services to mostly older consumers through mass mailings and seminars to induce the purchase of their estate planning documents and annuity products.

Contact our Plano estate planning attorney now.

	Did You Know?
	A "Living Trust" can be used to hold legal title to and provide a mechanism to manage your property You can select the person or persons you want -- often even yourself -- as the Trustee(s) to carry out the instructions you want in the Trust and name one or more Successor Trustees to take over if you cannot. Unlike a Will, a Trust usually becomes effective immediately, continues in force during your lifetime even in the event of your incapacity, and continues after your death. Most Trusts are "revocable" which allows the person who creates the Trust to make future changes, modifications and even to terminate it.