The firm’s estate planning practice focuses on helping families enhance their lives today and secure their futures tomorrow. We excel in guiding our clients through the often confusing maze of financial and legal decisions to create plans that ensure the well-being of their families and the accomplishment of cherished family goals. Our experienced estate planning attorneys considerable legal expertise includes family protection, wealth preservation, and values-based planning, as well as planning strategies for unmarried couples and divorced individuals. Whether you are married or single, with a traditional family or blended one, just starting out or looking back on a life well-lived, we will help you to craft a plan that achieves your goals for your loved ones today and for years to come.

Our attorneys enjoy remaining up to date and educated on a variety of topics including family wealth planning, wealth preservation, and asset protection of inheritances. They pride themselves on their ability to truly listen to their clients and to translate their vision into estate plans that meet their desires and expectations. They appreciate the unique composition of each family and know firsthand that thoughtful, creative customized planning can maximize both financial security and harmony therein.

Estate planning is important to do at any stage of your life, if you own a home or have more than $100,000 in assets you most likely need a revocable living trust, which is a powerful estate planning tool that will allow you to avoid probate. Probate is an expensive and time consuming process that will cost your beneficiaries nearly 5% of your total estate value! Living trusts can also save you nearly 50% in estate taxes!

If you do not own a home then a living trust may not be for you, but you still need the important planning protection that a will and powers of attorney can provide. In addition if you have minor children under the age of 18 establishing both temporary and permanent guardianships are critical to ensuring that your children do not end up in foster care or at the mercy of an overcrowded burdened court system should you be unable to take care of them. Don’t make the mistake of assuming that a certain family member would automatically be chosen, take the responsible steps now, you owe it to your children to make sure they are taken care of in case something happens to you.

Review the below questions for a quick assessment of if you need to plan or update any planning that you may have already done. Do any of the below questions apply to you? If so consider if you are fully protected in case the unexpected or inevitable happens sooner than you expect it to:

• Do you need to update an old will? Have you recently moved or gotten married? Our fees for updates are extremely reasonable.
• Do you have specific wishes for distributing assets from your estate? Make sure they go to whom you want and how.
• Do you have minor children? Make sure you provide for their care, education, etc.
• Do you have children from a previous marriage? Make sure that they are included.
• Do you have any children with special needs?
• Is your estate potentially subject to estate taxes?
• Do you have family owned property or businesses?

Without the protection that legal instruments such as Wills, Trusts, and Power of Attorney documents offer, the courts and not you will decide what happens with your assets and your children. Do not let California decide what happens with your assets and avoid/minimize estate taxes!

Contact us about our popular REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST PACKAGES:

We offer these packages at very competitive rates in order to provide individuals and families across a broad spectrum access to this very powerful and necessary item. We have several different levels of planning, all trust packages include:

• Revocable Living Trust (Single or Joint)
• Pour-Over Will
• Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare
• Durable Power of Attorney for Financial Management
• Advance Health Care Directive/Living Will
• Certificates of Trust
• Complimentary Notary
• Assistance with asset transfers into Trust