Services

A well-drafted and complete estate plan will ensure that your family and assets are protected should something happen to you.

The right estate plan can ensure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes, allows you to designate guardianship for minor children, plan for incapacity or disability, protect your assets, and avoid costly and time-consuming probate while minimizing taxes. The right estate planning technique used during your lifetime may also enable you to pass property to your intended beneficiaries in the most tax-efficient manner.

In your estate plan, you designate who will make financial and medical decisions for you upon your incapacity or death. Of significant importance, if you have minor children, your estate plan helps you designate a trusted guardian for your children until they are adults.

WHO NEEDS A CUSTOMIZED ESTATE PLAN?

Anyone who has minor children, owns real estate, or owns a business, or has assets over $166,250 should have a comprehensive estate plan. This threshold amount changes periodically to match inflation. Probate is an expensive, time consuming and public process, and an effective estate plan can minimize the need for Court intervention.

Drafting a valid will is simple, cost effective and has only a few requirements. However, most Wills need to be probated. Probate entails a timely and costly Court supervised proceeding to oversee a person’s estate after death. With a Probate proceeding, the contents of the will won’t be kept private. A typical probate takes a year or longer, depending on the backlog of the Court. Additionally, the fees and costs associated with a probate hearing are according to a strict statutory sliding scale in California ranging from $11,000 to more than $226,000 depending on the size of the Estate. Probate fees and costs can be avoided with the proper trust instrument.

A Power of Attorney allows an entrusted agent selected by you to act on your behalf in the event of your incapacity and is essential in seamlessly administering your business needs during any period of your incapacity.

A trust is a document that allows a third party, your trustee, selected by you to make decision with respect to your assets in the event of your incapacity or death. The trust allows you to designate who makes decisions on your behalf and how they are made. A trust most importantly, allows you to avoid probate. Setting up a Trust requires additional paperwork and accounting. However, unlike with the use of a Will, a Trust provides more privacy for one’s financial affairs at time of death and avoids or likely avoids probate and its related costs and expenses. Other primary benefits of using a Trust include the following:

• Provides confidentiality and privacy to your beneficiaries.
• Designates who will make decisions for you in the event of your incapacity.
• Ensures proper care of minor or disabled family members by the designation of a guardian for your minor chidren and financial planning for disabled loved ones.
• Provides for financial security during your incapacity
• Avoids probate in multiple states if property is owned outside of California.
• Encourages responsible behavior by future generations when they receive an inheritance; and
• Minimizes estate taxes and provides tax planning advantages for married couples.

A Medical Health Care Directive allows an entrusted agent selected by you to make important health care decisions on your behalf during your incapacity. Most importantly, it allows you to outline your end-of-life decisions and desires for life sustaining treatments.

A HIPPA Release authorizes your medical team to discuss your treatment and condition with those you name in the Release. Otherwise, under California law, those rendering medical treatment to you will be prevented from releasing your medical information and updates to your loved ones.