Southern California Estate Planning
An Overview of California Estate Planning
Estate planning involves creating a broad based plan that encompasses several potential circumstances with regards to your financial needs and wealth distribution. Comprehensive estate planning will include provisions for several potential eventualities, including the possibility that you may not be able to make decisions on your own behalf. By having a competent California probate attorney working with you on your estate planning requirements, you will have a plan of action in place for disposition of property, including any businesses, along with the potential for gifts to family and friends, or charitable donations. Because everyone’s estate planning needs are different, only a qualified California probate lawyer can properly assist with the nuances regarding each unique situation.
Traditionally, the estate plan consists of a will and the probate process in the California court system. However, most competent estate planning advisers recommend other options as well, depending upon the circumstances. A living trust is one such option. Under a living trust, you can avoid the probate courts entirely, and instead fund the trust so that the individuals you wish to inherit do not have to spend the time required to have the matter settled in probate court. Additionally, some people prefer the privacy afforded by living trusts, as the probate process is part of the public record for anyone to see.
The California Probate Law Center offers basic estate plans that include consultations on the following:
- Living Trust Advice
- Financial Power of Attorney
- Health Care Power of Attorney (a.k.a. an Advance Health Care Directive)
- Pour-over Will
- Certificate of Trust
- Community/Separate Property Agreement for Married Couples
- Real Property Deed (This Allows you to Fund Your Trust)
Overview: Living Trust
Because of the higher costs of real estate and the associated probate fees, trusts have become an important facet of estate planning in the state of California. Average home costs in the state of California can be well over $500,000 and the probate fees for such expensive estates can be expensive. A living trust allows beneficiaries to avoid those fees by avoiding the probate process altogether. Court costs, the attorney fees, and the fees paid to the administrator or the executor of the estate can all be avoided if a living trust is in place. Additionally, there are other benefits of a living trust, which may or may not be suitable for your particular situation. Among these are:
- Save Time – you can avoid the time-consuming legal process in probate court if you properly implement a living trust. Because probate court can typically last as long as six months after the initial file to open the estate, people who opt for a living trust have their estate issues resolved far sooner.
- Save Money – you can avoid some Federal Estate taxes by using a living trust as an option for your estate administration. If you are married, you have two exemptions from the federal state tax if your estate is properly held in a living trust that is appropriately administered.
- Increase Privacy – because the probate process becomes a part of the public record, those who wish to keep information about the creditors, interested parties, and other particulars of the estate private are encouraged to opt for a living trust option.
So what is a “living trust”? To put it simply, a trust is simply a written contract executed by the person who creates the trust, (called a grantor) and delivered to the person who is in charge of the trust, or the trustee. Generally, in a living trust, the grantor and the trustee are the same individual. The trust is made for the benefit of a group of people, or beneficiaries. A living trust is so called because it is created and takes effect before you pass away. A testamentary trust takes effect upon death and is generally included as part of a will
A revocable living trust is one that allows you to revoke part or all of the provisions included in the trust, as well as to change it any time and as often as you like. Revocable trusts provide well-rounded flexibility, and you can place some or all of your property into a revocable trust. You can also have more than one revocable trust, if you’d like to separate different types of property that you own, or need to have certain assets separated for various reasons.
A trust, whether revocable or not, is very similar to a will, however, it is administered differently upon your death. While you are alive, you still own the property within the trust and you may do whatever you like with it during the course of your lifetime. However, your trust must be “funded” – that is to say that your assets must be held in the name of the trust in order for it to be effective. A good California Probate attorney will be able to advise you with regards to the funding process, in order to be sure that your trust can provide the protections that you require for your estate. If you are considering a living trust as a part of your estate planning solution, please contact our California Probate Law Center for an initial consultation – we can help you to decide whether or not a living trust makes sense in your situation.
Overview: Pour Over Will
A will is considered to be the standard way to direct how an estate will be distributed after death. When a person in California passes away with a will, the probate court will oversee the passing of the estate to the beneficiaries if there is no trust involved. This process generally takes at least six months and may take even longer depending upon the complexities of the will and the estate involved.
If you have a living trust, you should still have a solid will in place – this is because if you have failed to properly fund your trust, the will can act as a directive, thus “pouring over” the assets into a trust established after your death. Otherwise, the required probate proceedings may not distribute your estate as you wished. The California Probate Law Center will work with you to create a solid “pour-over” will in the event that something happens to trigger probate intervention with regards to your trust.
Overview: Durable Power of Attorney – Health Care
In the event that you become physically or mentally incapacitated, it is important to have an Advanced Healthcare Directive with respect to your wishes. This directive is also known as a Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare and only a qualified California probate attorney can assist you with choosing exactly which options are right for your particular situation. Without a durable power of attorney for healthcare, your only recourse in the state of California is a process called conservatorship. It is costly, and there are no guarantees that your wishes would be upheld, or that your best interests would be served by a person that you trust. Therefore, it is important to nominate an agent to make health care decisions on your behalf should the need ever arise – and with the assistance of our California Probate Law Center, you will be able to feel confident that you’ve made the best choices possible in your Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare.
Overview: Durable Power of Attorney – Finances
In conjunction to the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care, you will also need a Durable Power of Attorney for Finances. This works in a similar fashion to the healthcare power of attorney, except that this allows an individual to make financial decisions on your behalf if you are incapacitated. You may wish to appoint the same person, or a different person that the one named in your power of attorney for healthcare, and our well-trained California probate attorneys will be able to help you choose the appropriate options. Keep in mind that whoever you choose to act as an agent for your finances will also have control of your trusts if you have a living trust established – so be certain that whomever you pick fully understands the responsibilities of the task.
Contact Southern California Estate Planning Attorney Thomas Wallin today!
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