Estate Planning Attorney

Comprehensive Estate Planning That Will Help Avoid Probate

Estate planning is an important step to take in life regardless of how much wealth you’ve accumulated, how old you are, or what your health is like. Your estate includes everything you own, whether that’s a home, vehicles, bank accounts, a business, personal property, life insurance policy, and more. Planning for what happens to these assets and property after you pass on can spare your loved ones from confusion and conflict trying to settle matters on their own.

We at Legacy Planning Group are here to provide comprehensive estate planning solutions for any client in need. Our services can address matters such as the following and more:

• Wills
• Trusts
• Asset Protection
• Special Needs Planning
• Powers of Attorney
• Advance Directives
• Succession Planning

If you require assistance for an estate planning matter you don’t see described here, please reach out to Legacy Planning Group to learn more about our capabilities. Schedule a consultation with us to gain an opportunity to discuss your needs with an attorney who can help.

Reach out to us today by contacting us online or by calling (310) 439-3704.

How Can My Estate Avoid Probate?

Probate may be avoided through a few different ownership arrangements and trusts you can make during your lifetime. For many people, though, the first step is to form a revocable living trust. This estate planning method creates a legal entity separate from your personal estate that you can control as its trustee and benefit from as its main beneficiary.

By assigning ownership of your assets and property to the trust, you effectively remove them from your personal estate. You can use whatever you put in the trust during your lifetime, and upon your passing, a successor trustee or co-trustee distributes the remaining property in your trust to other named beneficiaries of the trust, according to your wishes.

This not only eliminates the cost of getting the court involved for probate, but it can save months of time by allowing your loved ones to gain nearly instant control of your estate when you pass away.

Do I Really Need an Estate Plan?

Everyone should have a comprehensive estate plan in place, but not everyone does. This is likely due to misconceptions that estate planning is only for those who are very wealthy, old, or ill. The truth is that passing away with even a basic estate plan is preferable to dying intestate (without any planning at all).

Probate is already costly and time-consuming for families, but the process can be especially so for an intestate estate. Not only that, but lacking a valid will means your heirs and their inheritances are determined by law, which may conflict with your actual wishes if they weren’t laid out in a will. Of course, probate can be avoided altogether by establishing trusts and making other important arrangements for your property.

Importantly, estate planning can also address issues not related to property, such as guardianship over minor children and advanced directives for critical medical care. Legacy Law Group can help you explore all of the options that may be available to you when planning your estate and offer cost-effective solutions that can help you make sense of the future.

Contact us online to learn more about our services and to arrange a consultation with our attorney.