Tag: wills

If you have started to think about your future and your family’s future, you have doubtless started to give serious thought to your estate plan.  Estate planning can help provide security and certainty to your family after you are gone.  Every estate plan will be different, as every family and its goals are different.  Accordingly, there are a wide variety of documents you can use to make sure you achieve your goals.  One option that can help you provide confidence for your family is a pour-over will.

Like any other type of will, a pour-over will generally works to pour the assets into the trust, if they were not so titled.  However, unlike an ordinary will, a pour-over will works in conjunction with a revocable, or “living,” trust.  In this type of estate plan, you will have already established a living trust before your death.  The living trust will name trustees and beneficiaries, provide specific instructions as to how your beneficiaries will receive the assets from your estate, and dictate how the trustee should administer and distribute those assets.  Once you pass away, your revocable trust will automatically convert into an irrevocable trust.  If you also have a pour-over will, the will transfers all your remaining assets immediate to the trust at the time of your death.  The assets will then be distributed according to the provisions contained in your trust documents.

Wills are public documents, so anyone can read your will and see which family member inherited which assets when you die.  Trusts, however, are not public documents, so distributing your assets through a trust provide a high degree of privacy.  In addition, transferring all assets to the trust means that just one document will govern the distribution of assets, simplifying the process and reducing the risk of conflicts.

Do you need help with a trust or a will?  Calling our experienced lawyer can ease your when you choose the right estate planning document to suit their needs.  Call us at 818.340.4479 today to talk about your estate and your goals.

We all know that planning for the future security is an essential component of creating a trust.  Having a solid and comprehensive estate plan with the essential components, is the best way to go about that planning.  If you are thinking of beginning to build your estate plan, you should understand hat estate planning is not a do it yourself project.  There are many reasons you should consider hiring an estate planning attorney.

First, there are many different types of estate planning documents and vehicles.  These tools range from a simple will, to a pour over will, to a living will to an irrevocable trust.  Most people mistake a living will and confuse that with a living trust. A skilled estate planning attorney will be able to speak with you about your needs and desires for the future and help you to choose the best types of estate planning tools for your goals.

Second, the repercussions of faulty estate planning documents can be severe.  There is no one to protect you, if you draft your own trust and it fails.  Even wills drafted with the best intentions, sometimes fail.  Read about it in Estate of Duke.    Failing to adhere to the logistical, procedural, and administrative requirements for crafting and executing your estate planning document can result in the entire document being declared void.  For example, if your will is executed incorrectly and declared void, all of your specific wishes in your will, and decisions to grant friends and family members particular assets will not be honored.  Instead, your property will be distributed according to the California laws of intestacy.

Third, by not using an estate planning lawyer, you may not full grasp the tax implications or options in your estate plan.   People often make mistakes by gifting assets to their children, which creates a low tax basis for the child, if the parent acquired the assets at a low price.   Leaving all of your assets through your will could seem like the easiest way to go, but if you have substantial assets, it could result in your estate being assessed heavy estate taxes.  Estate planning lawyers have different options and strategies to help make sure that will not happen.

Finally, by not contacting and discussing your plans with an estate planning lawyer, your estate plan could have unintended consequences.  For example, if you leave substantial assets to your disabled sibling who receives state benefits such as Medicaid or Medi-Cal, the substantial gift could result in the sibling no longer being eligible to receive those benefits.  Moreover, using the wrong estate planning tool could result in unintended distributive consequences for the recipient.  For example, many times, hand-written wills do not include residuary clauses which complicates the distribution of the asset, as some pass by will, and some pass by intestacy.

We have extensive experience in all types of estate planning matters.  Contact us today at 818.340.4479 so we can talk to you about you, you kids, your estate and your goals.