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Let's start with the basics. First, what is your estate? Your estate is simply everything you have accumulated during your lifetime. That includes real estate, stocks, bonds, retirement plans; everything you own. Estate planning, then, is the planning necessary to manage your estate during your lifetime and to provide for its proper distribution upon your death. Challenges associated with Estate Planning Estate planning offers a number of challenges. The first challenge is finding the right attorney. Unfortunately, many people are intimidated by them. People are afraid that they won't choose the best attorney or that their attorney will somehow take control of their assets. As a result, many people avoid necessary estate planning. Attorneys are an essential part of your estate planning team. The second estate planning challenge is reducing estate taxes. When you pass away, the state and federal governments may take a healthy piece of everything you leave behind, significantly reducing the value of the estate your heirs receive. The final challenge is probate. Probate is the court supervised process by which a decedent's estate is distributed. During probate all creditors are paid from the estate's assets and any questions concerning the validity of a will are resolved. Finally, title to estate assets is transferred from the name of the deceased to the names of his or her beneficiaries. Of course, all the probate court's "help" comes with a price. Attorney's fees, appraisal fees, the executor's fees, publication and court costs all must be paid out of the estate. Depending on the laws in your state, the size of the estate, and the manner in which property is owned, probate and administrative fees can consume approximately five to ten percent of the gross estate. And probate can last a long time, anywhere from one to two years. Your heirs will have to wait to receive the bulk of their inheritance until probate is concluded. Another drawback of probate is that the proceedings of the probate court are public record. This means that anyone can go down to the county courthouse and find out what is in your estate, to whom you are leaving it, as well as how much you owe and to whom. In fact, some salespeople actually use probate files to obtain leads.

A living Trust, one established while you are still alive, enables you to control distribution of your estate even better than a will. Unlike a will, a living trust does not need to go through the hassle and expense of probate. When you establish and maintain a living trust, your estate will be available to your heirs at your death without the delays or expensive court proceedings that accompany the probate process. How do they work? After establishing a living trust, one simply transfers ownership of their assets into the trust. The person, or persons, establishing the trust can name themselves as trustees charged with the management and care of all trust assets. Although the trust is the legal owner of the assets, the trustees maintain control over their distribution and use, allowing them to buy, sell, use, or gift assets as they see fit. As a result, the individuals establishing the trust do not have direct ownership of the assets, and there is nothing to probate upon their death. There are some trust strategies that serve fairly specific estate planning needs. One of the most common is the A-B trust, which enables you to double the estate tax exemption and pass more money to your family. Another popular trust strategy is the insurance trust, which enables you to provide ready cash for your heirs to pay estate taxes and fees without adding to your taxable estate plan. Trusts have been in use for decades. For a long time, they have been perceived as a tool of the rich, but they are available to everyone. LPS can assist you in preparing a trust and complete estate plan specific to your needs.

Sometimes family members fail to do or complete proper estate planning and you find yourself looking at filing for probate. The probate process can be very complicated and frustrating. We can help with that. Steve has practiced probate law for over 20 years in various counties in California. We can help walk you through the process and work through the probate system in an efficient manner. We will deal with creditors and assist with the sale of properties when necessary. There is never an up front attorney fee. Call us for information or advice on how to best proceed.

Sometimes family members fail to do or complete proper estate planning and you find yourself looking at filing for probate. The probate process can be very complicated and frustrating. We can help with that. Steve has practiced probate law for over 20 years in various counties in California. We can help walk you through the process and work through the probate system in an efficient manner. We will deal with creditors and assist with the sale of properties when necessary. There is never an up front attorney fee. Call us for information or advice on how to best proceed.