Estate Planning

Estate Planning Basics

ESTATE PLANNING is the process by which you organize and control your assets -- your "legacy" -- both during your lifetime and afterwards.

ESTATE PLANNING is much more than having a simple will. Modern ESTATE PLAN documents are designed to avoid the time, delay and expense of probate.

Your ESTATE PLAN is unique to your family and goals and it is our pledge to help you express your ESTATE PLAN exactly as you intend it.

Your ESTATE PLAN will help you manage your assets during your lifetime, at your death and after you death. Your ESTATE PLAN will describe to whom your assets will pass and on what terms.

ESTATE PLANNING is particularly critical for individuals with young children. In your ESTATE PLAN documents you will nominate guardians for your minor children and appoint trustees to manage any assets your children might inherit from you, if you should pass before they have reached the age you select at which time they then receive their inheritance.

A good ESTATE PLAN will also identify the person or professional fiduciary you may wish to manage your assets, if you reach an age where you no longer wish to do so.

Creating your ESTATE PLAN will give you peace of mind. It is like wrapping your assets up into a gift-like package for your loved ones. Developing your ESTATE PLAN is a dynamic process that we will patiently help you complete. You will need to know:

What your legacy's assets are and their approximate values
Who you wish to receive those assets, and when
Who will manage your legacy if you are unable to do so
Who will manage and distribute your legacy after you pass

You need to also think about yourself and how your latter years will be spent. The ESTATE PLAN documents our firm prepares include an ADVANCED HEALTH CARE DIRECTIVE and DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT. These documents will enable you to nominate a conservator of your person and/or estate, if you can no longer care for yourself. You will also be able to express the level or degree of medical care you wish to receive, which will be of great assistance to your doctors, hospitals and loved ones if they have to make decisions at a time when you are unable to speak on your own behalf. Your careful planning today can make these sometimes difficult decisions far easier for your loved ones to cope with years later.

The State Bar of California website (www.calbar.ca.gov) has substantial additional information that will answer many of your questions.

Estate Plan Documents

Your ESTATE PLAN will consist of the following essential, comprehensive documents:

Revocable Living Trust
Pour Over Will
Advanced Health Care Directive
Durable Power of Attorney for Property Management
Quit Claim Deed to transfer title to your home into your Trust
Trust Certification for use in transferring title to stocks, savings accounts, brokerage accounts, certificates of deposit, etc.

If you are married or have a domestic partner, your ESTATE PLAN will also include a Pour Over Will, Advanced Health Care Directive and Durable Power of Attorney for Property Management for your spouse or partner.

Your ESTATE PLAN will be prepared by a qualified attorney; not a paralegal or self-proclaimed trust consultant. We are a law firm, whose members are licensed by the California State Bar Association. We are governed by rules of Professional Conduct that require us to put your interests first. We do not sell insurance or any financial products. We keep your information confidential and do not disclose or share it with anyone unless you direct us to do so. We are at your service.

Let us help you create an Estate Plan that will protect and preserve your legacy for your loved ones!

Will Your Kids Get Your Estate?
The AB Living Trust Saves Taxes
The estate tax occurs when someone dies owning a very large amount of property.Consider creating a living trust if you expect that your estate or that of you and your spouse may owe the tax. A living trust has two advantages. It avoids probate and also saves on federal estate tax. Without the living trust, surviving spouse's estate will include his or her share of the couple's property plus the property inherited from the deceased spouse and thus incurs estate tax when he dies.