It is difficult to think about the negative aspects of what can happen to us or something we choose not to think about. Unexpected events occur everyday and can happen to anyone. The aftermath of what follows can be very difficult to manage not only for you but for family members and friends. Knowing what to do with your assets or helping you make decisions in times you’re not able are important and that is the purpose of estate planning.
Our office aims to help you carefully plan your future through estate planning so that the ‘what if’ questions are no longer lingering as you move forward in your lives. Estate planning has a wide range of options including a variety of Livings Trusts with pour over Wills, Simple Wills, Wills with Trusts built-in to protect your minor children, Financial and Healthcare Powers of Attorney, Healthcare Directives and HIPPA release forms to name a few.
Our goal is to help you accomplish a sense of comfort as well as avoiding the high costs associated with probate proceedings in the event of death. We strive to provide you with exceptional legal representation so that planning is not limited to those with higher finances. The system was designed for everyone and we aim to make it available to all.
Trusts
A Trust allows you to plan and maintain control of your assets while at the same time preserving them for your heirs or designated beneficiaries. A benefit of having a Trust in place is allowing the beneficiaries to forego the probate process and therefore avoiding Court Supervision.
There are two types of Trusts – revocable and irrevocable. A Trustee may terminate a revocable living trust while an irrevocable trust cannot be terminated, unless a court order is issue or with the full consent of all parties. Determining the best one for your needs is something we can help you with.
Wills
There are numerous types of Wills available to people and in most cases they all serve the same purpose. They protect your assets in the event of your death and allow your wishes to be carried our by your designated beneficiaries. Also the will needs to follow the laws of California in order to be a valid in court later.
During a consultation, our office can help determine what type of Will is best suited for your needs.
Power of Attorney
Estate planning is not always on the forefront of peoples’ mind. It is a powerful tool that people should not only consider for once they pass away but also while they are alive but perhaps not capable of making a sound and well thought out decision.
Establishing a credible and trusted Power of Attorney provides a lot of benefits. For example, if are unable to make decisions about your estate, family members can go through a lot of grief trying to help you do that. Courts gets involved and it can often become overwhelming. A Power of Attorney in this scenario allows you to designate somebody you trust to act on your behalf if the circumstances warranted it. All it takes is a little preparation for those unfortunately outcomes we hope will never happen.