Estate Planning

Simply stated it is arranging your assets to protect them and structure them to provide income or growth. Your financial advisor can help you find the right structure and mix for income and growth while we, as your estate planning attorney, can help you to put together a package of documents that will assist you in protecting those hard earned assets.

The number one tool in asset protection is a properly written Trust. Other necessary documents include wills, powers of attorney, advance health care directives, asset lists, blanket assignments, guardianship instructions, and community property agreements among other things.

Any estate over $150,000 in assets or real estate will benefit from the use of a Trust. Done properly, a Trust will save you time, money, and headache. A Trust will reduce tension in families and provide for handicapped, ill, or addicted loved ones. A trust will protect your family by protecting your assets.

Trusts are flexible and with the aid of a creative attorney can fit any situation. With any trust, simply stated, you give all your assets to the trust so that when you die you technically own nothing and your assets are managed by the trust. You set the rules as to how your assets are managed and distributed, while you have the mental ability to do so. A trust therefore protects you from having decisions made about your health, life, money, property, or living arrangements made by persons you don't know, don't trust, or don't like. A trust allows you to make those decisions before the need arises.

With modern Trusts you do not lose control of your assets. You are the beneficiary of the Trust and You are the manager of the Trust. With revocable Trusts, you can modify or cancel the trust at any time.

A properly written Trust package is filled with benefits for your family. A Trust will help you:

Avoid conservatorship of the estate
Avoid probate
Avoid probate attorney fees
Avoid executor fees
Avoid other costs
Avoid time delays
Avoid family feuds
Save on taxes
Ensure your desires are carried out

A properly written living Trust package will not only save time and expense and give you maximum control of your life, it also gives you peach of mind.

Although we make the process fairly simple, in reality Trusts are all-encompassing and very complicated legal documents. If you have questions, call us for a free consultation. You don't have to wait for peace of mind, we will walk you through the steps so your Trust will be tailored to the needs of your family.