Heads up! Be sure you’re prepared for the V-I-D (very
important day): February 14, Valentine’s Day. Time to
share feelings of love and gratitude with loved ones and
special people in our lives. Just a Valentine’s Day greeting,
or card, or flowers will do—OR something from the jewelry store. Get on it!
Here’s another “Heads Up” of a different preparedness: Have you been asked to pay to see your legal public documents? If you’ve received what looks like an official letter notifying you that a document relating to your
real property has been recorded at the county recorder’s office, you SHOULD BE WARY! If it instructs you to pay an exorbitant fee to receive a copy of your deed, DO NOT PAY. If you have a Family Trust, for example, and have regular updates on changes in federal and/or state tax
laws from your estate planning/professional law corporation, they should be providing you with copies of any documents they have added or modified. Regardless, the County Recorder’s Office can always send you more copies for a small fee. SO, where are these letters coming from?
Under California’s Public Records Act, government agencies legally have to provide anything within the public record to any party who requests them. Some companies have been using this in a way that doesn’t fall within normal “business ethics” but is legal nonetheless.
They are continually running requests with the county recorder’s office to
receive notice of any new documents recorded, and then using the
information they receive to send out MISLEADING notices.
Keeping you informed and up-to-date is normally a
process your Trust administrator does for you, at no extra
cost, and one of the key reasons you have contracted with
them to oversee the many legal aspects of your Trust. YOU
DO HAVE A TRUST, DON’T YOU? And remember, not
all Trust/Estate Planning organizations are equal in the service they provide.
You get what you pay for. Just getting a binder with The Family Trust name on it, does not ensure it was done with the proper detail and services you
need. Let’s say you purchased new property and need to register it in the name of your trust. Your Trust administrator should prepare the deed and have it recorded at the County Recorder’s Office.
You DON’T need to pay additional fees from another source to get a copy of
your recorded documents. You also don’t have to have a Trust administrator to accomplish this if you feel you can manage this on your
own. The theme here is “Don’t be taken advantage of by a third party.” BTW, legal or scam, solicitations like this go well beyond paying a fee for something as outlined above.
BE AWARE. If it doesn’t smell right, do some follow-up to verify and be vigilant.
—Kent Wellbrock
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