Estate Planning Lawyer Mission Viejo, CA
At Heritage Law, LLP, our attorneys advise individuals, business owners, and families on the best ways to plan for their future security through wills, trusts, gifts, and other estate planning tools that meet their unique needs.
Our services range from basic estate plan packages to advanced trust instruments suitable for complex tax liability problems or business management succession. Clients choose our Mission Viejo, CA estate planning lawyer because we are reliable, responsive, and offer individualized representation that exceeds expectations.
What does a basic estate plan consist of?
A basic estate plan will cover the needs of most families. We work directly with families to outline their specific needs. A basic estate plan will typically include:
- Pour-over will – A pour-over will is a legal document that ensures an individual’s assets will automatically transfer to a previously established trust.
- Revocable living trust – a document created by an individual that can be modified over time. It can be used to help the trust owner avoid probate and to protect the privacy of the trust owner, and beneficiaries of the trust. A revocable living trust can also help minimize estate taxes.
- Financial power of attorney – A financial power of attorney is a legal document that grants a trusted agent the power to make and execute financial decisions for a principal-agent. Financial power of attorney is an essential to protecting yourself and your estate in the event of an incapacitating accident that renders you unable to make decisions regarding your assets, property and estate.
- Advance healthcare directive – An advance directive, sometimes called a living will, is a document expressing a person’s wishes about critical care when they are unable to decide for themselves. Advanced directives are made available to physicians to guide life support decisions in extreme circumstances.
Together, these measures not only provide clear instructions regarding the transfer of assets, but also protect most or all of the assets after death from probate, in turn saving a significant amount of time, energy, and money for your family.
How can an estate planning lawyer assist with more advanced estate planning processes?
The estate planning lawyers at Heritage Law, LLP will be able to help you build a clear understanding of more complex estate planning tools and processes. For example, our lawyers can explain how a life insurance trust can either keep assets out of probate or meet anticipated estate tax obligations.
Examples of more advanced estate planning tools we help clients understand and implement include:
- (FLP) – Family Limited Partnerships
- (IDIT) – Income Defective Grantor Trusts
- (SLAT) – Spousal Access Trusts
- (QPRT) – Qualified Personal Residence Trusts
- (SNT) – Special Needs Trust
- Preparation of a dynasty trusts to leverage the generation skipping transfer (GST), and optimize exemption from the GST tax.
How does an estate planning lawyer assist in the process of estate planning?
Our lawyers advise individuals, business owners, and families about the best ways to plan for their future security through wills, trusts, gifts, and other estate planning tools. We strive to help our clients understand what the best tools are for their specific needs, and then create a plan that meets those needs.
