Estate Planning Lawyer Beverly Hills, CA
If you’re based in California, an estate planning lawyer Beverly Hills, CA residents rely on from Inter Vivos, PLLC can help you plan for your future and safeguard your assets. One of the most important things you can do to protect your future and guarantee that your friends and families are cared for after your death is to create an estate plan. However, the process can be stressful as it necessitates writing several legal documents, and it can be unpleasant to think about a future when you are no longer here.
Fortunately, there are ways to help the task go more smoothly. It can be beneficial to research estate planning so you know what to expect moving forward. Continue reading to discover more about California estate planning and asset protection.
California Estate Planning / Asset Protection
Asset protection planning supports the protection of your fortune by reorganizing your assets in such a way that the risk of loss in future litigation is reduced.
Our Beverly Hills, CA estate planning lawyer specializes in helping clients secure their savings, wages, and income from judgment creditors, as well as setting up mechanisms to pass assets on according to the decedent’s desires.
Living Trust / Revocable Trust
A living trust is one of the best estate planning tools available to you. You can keep control of the trust, and if you become disabled, someone else can take over. When you die, your assets will be distributed to your loved ones without the need for probate, and your legacy will live on in their memory. You have complete control over the process of establishing a living trust in California.
As the grantor, you select the trustee, who will manage your assets throughout your lifetime and distribute them after your death. You may appoint anybody as a trustee and even serve as one yourself, but you’ll need a successor trustee to oversee the process after you pass away. There are revocable trusts as well. When the trust creator dies and the beneficiaries get their final shares in the trust, revocable trusts become irreversible. If you are looking to create a living trust, our Beverly Hills estate planning attorneys can help you today.
Living Will
An Advance Health Care Directive (often referred to as a “living will”) permits you to name one or more people to give medical experts instructions on what treatments you want or don’t want, including end-of-life choices. To the dismay of many well-intentioned doctors, most doctors are educated to sustain you alive at all costs, irrespective of the quality of life you may have following treatment. With an Advance Health Care Directive, you can make end-of-life choices that your health care agent must follow. Contact us for assistance.
Power of Attorney
A power of attorney in California is a legal instrument that authorizes someone to act on your behalf. A power of attorney can be used to appoint a person to carry out any legal action you would have conducted yourself. You might, for example, utilize a power of attorney to authorize a business partner to finalize a real estate transaction while you are out of the country. You may even use it to allow a buddy to sell your automobile. You can also utilize a power of attorney to appoint someone to make medical choices on your behalf if you are incapacitated or unable to convey such selections yourself.
For more information on all things estate planning, contact Keila Nakasaka at Inter Vivos, PLLC, an experienced Beverly Hills estate planning lawyer, today!
Beverly Hills Estate Planning Lawyer
Estate Planning Tools
An individual may elect to selectively implement one or more estate planning tools to help ensure that their property and assets are managed and transferred in strict accordance with their plans and legal regulations. By utilizing estate planning tools, our estate planning lawyer can assist you with the process of solidifying your legacy and securing the future of your family.
Wills
The primary goal of a Will is to provide specific direction about how property and assets will be, distributed, or otherwise, transferred after death. The person who acts to establish a will is known as a Testator. Soon after the death of the testator, a local court that specializes in Will-related affairs, oversees the terms stated in the will and to the best of their abilities, ensuring that everything is executed in accordance with the terms of the will and in complete compliance with pertinent legal regulations. A role that an estate planning attorney can fulfill is to assist with the process of authoring a Will, as well as various associated processes such as Will execution.
Executing a Will
A primary component of the process of authoring a will, is designating a person or entity as an executor. Regarded as a serious responsibility, the executor that is designated is commonly someone who is able to demonstrate a long history of trust with the Will author. Ultimately, an executor is entrusted with managing, providing authorization to complete various legal processes the terms of the will, and ensuring complete compliance with pertinent local legal regulations.
Trusts
Each type of trust serves to meet a unique estate planning goal for a grantor, (the author or owner of the trust). A fundamental goal of trusts is to establish, oversee, and uphold a “right in property” that one person has, with the intention of benefiting another.Here at Inter Vivos, PLLC we have an estate planning lawyer who specializes in trusts that can assist with identifying what type of trust could be created that best serves to achieve goals.
Essential Trust Components and Terms
- Settlor, grantor or trustor – the individual who acts to create, and establish the trust.
- Trust property – property of any kind.
- Trustee – a person or legal entity who is granted the responsibility of managing, maintaining, and upholding the terms of the trust to the best of their ability by the grantor.
- Beneficiary – one person, a group of people, or even a pet may be designated by the grantor as a beneficiary, effectively establishing that they are to “benefit” from the trust.
- Purpose – The grantor must establish a trust for a specific purpose, such as to allocate and distribute funds to beneficiaries for support, education
Asset Protection
The primary goal of asset protection within the area of estate planning is to implement devices that effectively guard assets such as property or money from creditors, former spouses, or legal actions.
Our estate planning lawyer can assist with developing an asset protection strategy that meets your unique needs. Attorneys from Inter Vivos, PLLC are well prepared to help you identify potential threats, devise and implement a plan to effectively protect your assets.
Common Estate Planning Mistakes
It is important for people of all ages to take estate planning seriously. Having a proper estate plan in place ensures that your final wishes are carried out and that your assets will go to the right people. However, if you make errors during the process, your estate plan might not work the way you intend it to.
Here are some common estate planning mistakes you need to avoid.
- Forgetting about your final arrangements. Funeral and burial wishes are one of the most important things to include in your estate plan. After all, you do not want your grieving family members to struggle to figure out what you would want. Determine what kind of funeral or memorial you want and whether you want to be buried or cremated. Put that information in writing.
- Not talking about your estate plan with your family. Although it may be awkward to discuss your estate plan with your family members at first, it may help avoid a lot of stress and disagreements down the road. For example, if you plan to give a bigger inheritance to one child because he or she is not as financially stable as your other children, explain that to everyone. If they understand the reasons behind your decisions, there may be less hurt feelings.
- Forgetting to name a power of attorney. Should you become physically or mentally incapacitated in your life, you want someone you trust to make financial and healthcare decisions on your behalf. That is why it is critical to appoint a power of attorney in your estate plan.
- Choosing the wrong executor. The executor of your will is responsible for paying your debts and distributing your assets to your beneficiaries after you are gone. Therefore, you should choose someone who is honest, organized, dependable and communicative. He or she should also have a good understanding of finances and tax laws. If you can’t think of a family member who could fulfill the role, your Beverly Hills estate planning lawyer can discuss other options with you.
- Not updating your estate plan. An estate plan is not a one and done deal. Most people experience major changes in their lives that require updates to their estate plan. For instance, if you divorce your spouse, have another child or start a business, you will want to give your estate plan another look.
- Trying to do it all yourself. Some people may try to handle their estate planning on their own to save money. However, this is not a good idea. Estate planning involves complicated tax and legal matters. An estate planning lawyer can help you understand everything and fill out all your paperwork correctly. He or she can prevent you from making mistakes and ensure your estate plan accomplishes what you want it to.