Estate Planning
Buda Law Group can handle all your Estate Planning needs. We are fully experienced in preparing all California Wills & Trusts. As we look into an uncertain future, do you want to leave your loved ones to depend on California bureaucrats and judges? Or do you want to make sure your assets are secure with the people you decide.
To discuss your estate plan, we need to know your assets. Your estate is an accumulation of your assets such as your real estate properties, bank accounts and investments, life insurances, and personal property such as jewelry, cars, or artwork. Our discussion will be your instructions for what you want to happen to all those assets after you die. Beyond that, an estate plan can also help to specify burial instructions, lay out plans in case of unexpected disability, and arrangements to pay off all final debts and expenses.
In the estate plan, we will go over several important documents such as:
- Your Will. A will outlines how your assets will be distributed, your executor for taking care of the estate, and designated guardians of your children. Without a Will, the probate court judge has the power to decide how everything is distributed and who will be the guardian of your children, so this is one of the most important pieces of document to have control over your estate. Even with a Will, the CA Probate Court must be involved.
- Beneficiaries. Although several important asset documents such as a bank account and life insurance plans allow you to designate a beneficiary in case of death, but not all of your assets are locked in a bank account or life insurance plan. So, it is very crucial to name your beneficiaries so you can pass down a piece of meaningful artwork or a fine jewelry to your favorite family member.
- Durable Power of Attorney (DPA). In case of an unexpected accident, a DPA is someone who can serve as a financial proxy to manage your affairs and assets when you cannot do so.
- Advanced Medical Directive. This document includes your DPA, a living will and HIPPA release forms. It describes what do you wish to happen medically when you can no longer make the decision yourself.
- Trusts. A living trust allows you to hold and manage assets for beneficiaries during your lifetime. A revocable living trust allows you to amend the trust if you have a change of mind for the beneficiaries to receive more or less of your assets. However, there are over a dozens of different types of trusts that can help your family to avoid process like probate or estate taxes, so we will do the research for you to find which type will work the best for you!
Why Do You Need Estate Planning?
It is common knowledge that probate is a long, expensive, exhausting nightmare that can bring more heartache to your loved ones, and here are some reasons why probate is bad for everyone:
- Your Family Will Not Have Immediate Access to Your Assets. California probate court has listed that on average a probate matter can take as little as nine month and as long as a year and half to conclude, which means your loved ones will be paying for everything from the funeral expenses to household utilities during the time your estate is probated. Some will not have access to bank account savings, so family members are left scrambling to pay for even the most basic living expenses, like groceries.
- A Probate Judge Gets to Decide Everything. Without a valid will or a living trust, the court can get in the way as much as approving a sale of real estate property or running your business. There will be numerous rules to be met, forms to be filed on a timely basis, and appraisals to be completed and submitted to court.
- Probate Cost. Once it is in the probate court, there will be costs to spend on filing papers and the attorney will charge a percentage for his or her fees based on the total asset value of the estate. So, without being able to access the assets, loved ones are forced to pay out of pockets for all of court fees and legal expenses.
- Probate Matter Becomes Public Records. Probate is a state proceeding, therefore, all information going to probate court will become a matter of public record. Anyone can access probate court file and find out just about everything and anything he wants to know. In some states, the entire probate files are available for viewing online, so people who are interested to know, will find out without even going to the courthouse to request it.
Avoiding probate will keep your family matter and your financial information private.
Undoubtedly, this is the most sensitive and difficult subject to talk about with family members, especially your closest loved ones. But a lack of planning will cause a lot of families to be caught off guard when the worst unexpected tragedy occurs. Therefore, it is absolutely crucial to establish an estate plan early and readjusting the plan as needed throughout your lifetime so you can leave a peace of mind for the people you love.