PRACTICE AREA
Estate Planning
Thoughtful planning to protect the people you love and put your wishes in writing.
Taking Care of Things Now—and the People You Love Later
Estate planning is ultimately about taking care of things now so the people you love aren't left to sort them out later. It asks us to consider things we might rather put off—incapacity, death, money, family relationships, and what will happen when we're no longer able to take care of things ourselves.
A thoughtful estate plan puts your wishes in writing, gives the right people the authority they'll need, and creates a structure for what happens if you become incapacitated or when you die.
Good estate planning isn't simply about creating documents that reflect your wishes today. It also requires thinking forward—considering what may change, where problems could arise, and how your plan will work under different circumstances.
Is a Living Trust Right for You?
A revocable living trust can be an important part of an estate plan, particularly if you own a home or other significant assets. But not everyone needs the same kind of plan—and a trust isn't necessarily the right answer for everyone.
In deciding whether a trust makes sense for you, we'll look at what you own, how your assets are held, your family and the people you're planning for, and what you want to happen if you become incapacitated or when you die.
Some of the considerations include:
Privacy
A trust agreement is private and allows assets held in the trust to pass without a public probate proceeding. An exception is a court contest over trust terms, in which case it can become part of a public court file.
Avoiding Probate
Assets held in a trust can pass seamlessly to your beneficiaries without going through probate. This can be particularly important if you own California real estate or other substantial assets, because a full probate can involve significant cost, delay and court oversight.
Planning for Incapacity
A well-designed plan can provide continuity if you become unable to manage your own financial affairs. Your successor trustee can step in to manage assets held in your trust, while the person you've named under your financial power of attorney can handle financial matters outside the trust.
Minor Children and Family Members with Special Needs
A trust allows you to decide not only who receives your assets, but how and when they receive them. This can be especially important when providing for minor children or a loved one with special needs.
Blended Families
When you have children from a prior relationship as well as children with your current spouse, estate planning requires particular care.
You may want to provide financial security for your spouse and the children you have together, while also protecting the inheritance you intend for your children from an earlier relationship. Careful planning can help you balance those interests, make your wishes clear, and reduce the potential for conflict after your death.
Business Interests
If you own a business or an interest in one, we'll evaluate how that interest fits into your overall estate plan, what happens to it if you become incapacitated or die, and how it should be handled.
What Your Estate Plan May Include
Every estate plan is different, but there are some foundational documents:
Revocable Living Trust
A living trust provides the structure for managing assets held in your trust during your lifetime, if you become incapacitated, and after your death. It identifies who will step in for you when needed and sets out who will ultimately receive your assets, when and under what circumstances.
Pour-Over Will
When you have a living trust, your will is an important safety net. It directs assets left outside your trust at your death into your trust for distribution according to your plan. Your will may also nominate guardians for your minor children.
Durable Financial Power of Attorney
A financial power of attorney allows someone you choose to handle financial and legal matters for you if you're unable to handle them yourself. It works alongside your trust by giving that person authority to handle matters your trustee cannot.
Advance Health Care Directive
Your health care directive names the person or people you want making health care decisions for you if you cannot make them yourself, and allows you to provide direction about your wishes for care.
Depending on your family, assets and circumstances, your plan may also include guardianship nominations, HIPAA authorizations and other supporting documents, as well as additional planning for minor children, family members with special needs, asset protection, tax considerations or other particular family or financial concerns.
Putting Your Plan in Place
Creating and signing your estate planning documents is only part of the process. Your assets also need to be coordinated with your plan so that everything works together as intended.
We help our clients identify what needs to be done and make sure they understand how each of their assets should be handled. We prepare and record deeds and other legal documents needed to transfer assets to the trust, and provide the information clients need to address bank, investment, retirement and other accounts. Clients who prefer can also have us handle the account funding for them.
Keeping Your Plan Current
An estate plan isn't something to sign and forget. Families change. Assets change. People marry and divorce, children are born, relationships evolve, and the people you once chose to act for you may no longer be the people you would choose today.
We also help our clients recognize when changes in their lives or finances should prompt another look at their plan, so the plan continues to reflect their wishes and circumstances.
Let's Talk About What Makes Sense for You
You don’t need to know what documents you need before we talk. We’ll start with your family, your assets and what you want to accomplish, then help you decide what kind of planning makes sense for you.