Estate Planning

For most clients, an estate plan includes a living trust, pour-over wills, durable powers of attorney, and advance health care directives. It also contains a schedule A to list the assets you have including real estate, bank accounts and business interests like S corporations, partnerships, and Limited Liability Corporations, LLCs. Our firm will also prepare the deeds to transfer your real estate to your trust and ensure that those deeds are properly filed with the appropriate county recorder’s office.

A living trust, sometimes called a revocable living trust, or just a revocable trust, is one component of a comprehensive estate plan. A living trust is designed to hold title to your major assets including real estate and bank accounts along with any business interests you may have. The advantage is that you do not own anything in your name because the trust owns your assets. However, during your lifetime you are still in charge of your assets and you can control them (and change their allocation) as you desire. However, should you become incapacitated or die, your living trust should be activated to install your successor trustee(s) as the person or people in charge of your trust properties to access them, pay your debts, and then distribute the remainder of the assets as you outlined in your living trust. A living trust (unlike an irrevocable trust, which cannot be changed or canceled) can be altered, amended, and updated however you like during your lifetime and while you have the mental capacity. There are a few variants of living trusts such as an A-B trust, A-B-C trust, a three-way marital trust, and a basic disclaimer trust. These specialized trusts can have carve-outs for special-needs beneficiaries or can create a legacy or dynasty trust for your heirs. If you would like to learn more about these variations and explore what type of trust best fits your needs, please contact us for a complimentary consultation.

When you own a home or other real estate in California estate, a living trust is essential if you want to avoid probate (the formal court administration of a decedent’s estate). As long as the trust owns your assets, there is no reason for probate to occur: your successor trustee can distribute the trust property according to your stated desires without having to go to a probate court to approve the distribution. If you become incompetent, the successor trustee(s) can manage the property for your benefit without having to turn to a court for conservatorship and without ongoing court supervision. In summary, a living trust holds title to your major assets. You name who should get what when you pass away and who should be in charge to oversee this effort on your behalf. A good attorney will draft both a living trust and a backup pour-over will. We advise a pour-over will for two reasons:

• • The pour-over will is designed to grab any asset that you acquire after you create your living trust, but you forgot to put into your trust. Alternatively, if you died before you could do the transfer; the pour-over will catch the outlier. For example, if you won the lottery and then died before you could title the earnings into your trust, the pour over-will would capture the winnings and transfer them back into your trust via a probate proceeding. It’s a backup.

• A pour-over will is the preferred document to nominate guardians for minor children. People with young children should indicate the kids’ custodians (who will have agreed to this responsibility) should something happen to both the parents.

A power of attorney is a legal document that indicates who should be your agent to handle your financial matters if you are alive and not well. You can select who should handle your checkbook, taxes and other affairs with a properly prepared power of attorney. A well-drafted power of attorney is not two pages long with checkboxes. It should be between 18 and 30 pages long and expressly indicate all the powers that your agent has if you are alive but in some way incapacitated.

The Advance Health Care Directive is an important “peace of mind” document that:

• Names the person(s) who should make medical decisions for you if you are unable to make your own decisions
• Can indicate your desires for burial or cremation
• States your preferences for organ donation if that’s important to you
• Delineates strong feelings you may have about your health care if you are not able to make your own decisions

The Schedule A is a companion to your living trust to indicate what you own and what should be included in it. Think of it as an index that tells your successor trustee(s) what you have and what they should collect and distribute when you die. You can update the Schedule A at any time, and it is a good idea to revise it each time you buy or sell an asset, or if relationships with your bank, investment, or insurance companies change, for instance. You don’t want to leave money out there that a beneficiary cannot locate because they were not aware of it. Some people have a reminder set up for their birthday or on an anniversary to make sure they review the Schedule A at least annually.

If you have over ten or even twenty million in net worth, you still need the above documents. Everyone needs them. If your net worth is greater than the federal estate tax exemption amount of $12.92 million per person ($25.84 million for a married couple) in 2023 in 2018, TLD Law can offer additional tax and asset planning as part of your estate planning needs.

WHY USE TLD LAW FOR ESTATE PLANNING AND LIVING TRUSTS?

We are good at this. We have several excellent estate planning attorneys who exclusively handle estate planning and trusts for the firm’s clients. We have over 100 years’ combined experience in drafting, administering, and litigating and protecting estate plans. Our decades of involvement in this area of the law mean that we are ready to defend your wishes even in the face of a challenge. As an added service, we can prepare deeds and record them to save you time and spare you a separate trip.

Our pricing model for estate planning is usually a flat fee, but it is also designed to address the complexity of your unique circumstances and the value of your assets. If you have estate tax planning, charitable gift plans, business, or family issues that are particularly intricate, your estate plan fee could be hourly to be the most effective. We have found that there is no one-size-fits-all in this important area of our legal practice. The terms would be set out for you in the first meeting, for which there is no charge. If you are unsure or don’t understand how estate planning works, your best bet is to reach out to us for this complimentary consultation. Our primary concern is to make sure we communicate your family’s estate planning requirements back to you, so you understand exactly what you need and why. Please contact us anytime for your complimentary estate planning or living trust consul (877) 923-0971 or emailing estateplanning@tldlaw.com today.