Estate Planning Services
Download client Estate Planning forms below
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I'm always asked: "What is an Estate Plan?" Simply put, an estate plan is a blueprint for the protection of you and your assets while you are alive and for the distribution of your assets when you die. While you are living, an estate plan should address your children, your finances, assets and retirement income, as well as your health and well-being. When you pass, it addresses not only the question of who will receive your assets, but also the methods and timing of the distribution.
A good Estate Plan will usually include a Trust, Pour-over Will, Financial Durable Powers of Attorney, Advanced Health Care Directive (Power of Attorney for Health Care with a physician directive), and documents to transfer assets into the trust called Trust Funding.
Trusts: A revocable living trust is the most common type of trust used for family planning and is a trust document created by an individual or individuals that can be changed over time. Revocable living trusts are used to avoid or minimize probate, protect the privacy of the trust owner and beneficiaries of the trust and can be used to minimize or eliminate estate taxes. Many times, a spendthrift provision is put into a living trust to protect against creditors of a beneficiary. Irrevocable trusts, on the other hand, are generally not used for basic family planning, but are instead used for planning and control of assets for a disabled person.
To learn about Special Needs Trusts, click here.
Pour-Over Will: A pour-over Will is a legal document that ensures an individual’s remaining assets outside of a trust will transfer to a previously established trust upon their death. It is basically a back-up device to fund your remaining assets outside your trust into your trust after your death. Additionally, a pour-over Will can have additional language regarding guardianship of minor children following the death of the parent.
Financial Durable Powers of Attorney: A financial power of attorney is a legal document that allows a trusted agent the power to make and execute financial decisions for the principal (you). Most financial powers of attorney are "durable" which means they remain in effect after the principal becomes incapacitated. Some are effective immediately so your agent can act right away without proving incapacity and some have "springing" powers that only allow your agent to act if you are proven incapacitated. The most common is one that is effective immediately.
Advanced Health Care Directive: An advanced health care directive is a legal document that allows an individual to empower another person to make decisions about their medical care, including comfort care, end of life decisions (physician directives) and organ donation. These are of course usually "durable" so that they remain in effect after the principal becomes incapacitated.
Trust Funding: Funding your trust is the process of transferring your assets from you to your trust or making the trust the beneficiary of a particular asset and is probably the most important steps to take after your trust has been signed. Failure to fund your trust with your assets may cause those assets to go through a Probate process.
Below you can download 1) our Estate Planning Questionnaire for a single person, 2) our Estate Planning Questionnaire for a married couple, 3) our client guide - Putting Your Estate in Order, and 4) our Estate Planning Fee Agreement. Of course, if you want to schedule an appointment or if you have questions give us a call: (530) 891-8000 or (800) 530-4LAW.
A good Estate Plan will usually include a Trust, Pour-over Will, Financial Durable Powers of Attorney, Advanced Health Care Directive (Power of Attorney for Health Care with a physician directive), and documents to transfer assets into the trust called Trust Funding.
Trusts: A revocable living trust is the most common type of trust used for family planning and is a trust document created by an individual or individuals that can be changed over time. Revocable living trusts are used to avoid or minimize probate, protect the privacy of the trust owner and beneficiaries of the trust and can be used to minimize or eliminate estate taxes. Many times, a spendthrift provision is put into a living trust to protect against creditors of a beneficiary. Irrevocable trusts, on the other hand, are generally not used for basic family planning, but are instead used for planning and control of assets for a disabled person.
To learn about Special Needs Trusts, click here.
Pour-Over Will: A pour-over Will is a legal document that ensures an individual’s remaining assets outside of a trust will transfer to a previously established trust upon their death. It is basically a back-up device to fund your remaining assets outside your trust into your trust after your death. Additionally, a pour-over Will can have additional language regarding guardianship of minor children following the death of the parent.
Financial Durable Powers of Attorney: A financial power of attorney is a legal document that allows a trusted agent the power to make and execute financial decisions for the principal (you). Most financial powers of attorney are "durable" which means they remain in effect after the principal becomes incapacitated. Some are effective immediately so your agent can act right away without proving incapacity and some have "springing" powers that only allow your agent to act if you are proven incapacitated. The most common is one that is effective immediately.
Advanced Health Care Directive: An advanced health care directive is a legal document that allows an individual to empower another person to make decisions about their medical care, including comfort care, end of life decisions (physician directives) and organ donation. These are of course usually "durable" so that they remain in effect after the principal becomes incapacitated.
Trust Funding: Funding your trust is the process of transferring your assets from you to your trust or making the trust the beneficiary of a particular asset and is probably the most important steps to take after your trust has been signed. Failure to fund your trust with your assets may cause those assets to go through a Probate process.
- To fund your trust, you usually physically change the titles of your assets from your individual name to the name of your trust. If you are married, you and your spouse might change the titles of your jointly owned assets to your joint trust or to each of your individual trusts, whether in equal or unequal portions. Example - You can transfer your home (or any real property) to the trust with a deed, a document that transfers ownership to the trust.
- On many assets, like bank accounts or non-qualified investment accounts (regular investment accounts), you can set up a Pay on Death (POD) or Transfer on Death (TOD) so that the account stays in your individual name during your life and then transfers into your trust upon your death. Sometimes this is the easiest and most convenient way to fund these accounts into your trust.
- Finally, you may not be able to physically transfer all of your assets to your trust. For example, qualified accounts such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) cannot be owned by your trust while you are living. However, you can change the beneficiary designation for your IRA to your trust as primary or contingent beneficiary to receive retirement benefits after your death much like the POD or TOD described above.
Below you can download 1) our Estate Planning Questionnaire for a single person, 2) our Estate Planning Questionnaire for a married couple, 3) our client guide - Putting Your Estate in Order, and 4) our Estate Planning Fee Agreement. Of course, if you want to schedule an appointment or if you have questions give us a call: (530) 891-8000 or (800) 530-4LAW.
Disclaimer: Testimonials or endorsements do not constitute a guarantee, warranty, or prediction regarding the outcome of your legal matter. The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only.