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| About California estate planning
and probate practice: |
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| Probate
- Probate is the process by which you prove
that a person is deceased and who should be
entitled to that person's property. The deceased
is commonly referred to as the "Decedent."
Property from a decedent is distributed either
according to the decedent's will (usually
by letters testamentary, or a muniment of
title) or by intestacy if there is no will
(by letters of administration). Sometimes,
a probate court procedure is required in order
to clear title to property only. |
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| Intestacy
Laws - If someone dies without a will,
that person is intestate. Documentation or
court proceedings may be required to prove
who owns the deceased's property. There are
several mechanisms available to demonstrate
the transfer of the deceased's property, depending
on the circumstances, debts and the size of
the deceased's estate. For complex estates,
or in a wrongful death / survivor action matter,
a motion to appoint an administrator or personal
representative of an estate may be necessary.
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| Estate
Planning - We draft wills, guardianship
declarations for minor children, trusts, revocable
living trusts, probate avoidance materials,
medical power of attorney, durable powers
of attorney for residents of California. We
also have a package service that includes
the drafting of a will (either with or without
a trust), a durable power of attorney, guardianship
declaration, medical power of attorney and
living will for one low price. Please see
the individual descriptions of available documents
listed below. |
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| Drafting
Wills - A will is a set of instructions
that list how you want your property disposed
in the event of your death. Our services include
wills for married couples, unmarried couples,
life partners and single people. You can choose
to dispose of your property by outright gifts,
or by trusts (see below). People often ask
us if they can draft their own wills (either
by using free legal forms, self help books,
or on-line will creation software.) Given
the relatively low price that attorneys charge
for wills, it may not be worth the risk to
draft wills without an attorney. Put simply,
you are dealing with all of your possessions
in one document. This might not be the best
time to save a few dollars, considering that
you are risking all of your worldly possessions.
If there is an ambiguity, you will not be
there to explain it. If there is an error
in the execution of the will, you will not
be able to correct it. There is a risk that
a simple error could cause your estate to
be distributed in a manner that you would
not have wanted. |
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| Trusts
- A "trust" is an instrument
by which you transfer property (called the
"res") to a person or corporation
("trustee") for the benefit of another
person ("beneficiary"). Trusts come
in several types. The most common trust is
one made incident to a will. In this scenario,
a person plans for property to pass from his
or her estate to a trustee, for the benefit
of a minor child. Upon that person's death,
the trustee collects the property designated
in the will, and distributes the funds to
the child, per the trust terms. A common example
is to provide periodic payments from the trust
for the child's health, education, maintenance
and support until the child reaches the age
of 21. At that time, the trustee either distributes
the rest of the trust outright, or continues
to make periodic payments per a predefined
schedule. There can be tax implications regarding
trusts. |
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| Living
trusts - Other trusts include trusts
made during a person's lifetime, known as
"inter vivos" trusts. These trusts
are either revocable (you can change at any
time during your life, but they cannot be
changed after your death or incapacity) or
irrevocable (they are unchangeable immediately).
These trusts may require that you transfer
assets to the trust during your lifetime.
Often included with these trusts is a "pour-over"
will, which transfers at your death any property
that you did not transfer to the trust during
your life. Other trusts include trusts to
be funded with life insurance policies. These
trusts are sometimes referred to as "probate
avoidance" trusts, though this is not
technically accurate. These types of trusts
are common for disability planning, and planning
in which there is a chance of subsequent probate
litigation. |
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| Physician's
Directives - Also known as
"Living Wills", "Do not resuscitate"
(DNR) orders, and "Advance directives",
these instruments notify health care providers
in advance what sorts of artificial life support
you would like, if any, if you are ever diagnosed
as being in an persistent vegetative state. |
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| Power
of Attorney - A power of attorney document
allows another to sign your name to documents
and contracts for you. You can restrict the
powers to specific items (called a limited
power of attorney) or have the person sign
just about anything on your behalf (called
a general power of attorney.) Limited powers
of attorney are handy if you need someone
to sign your name to a specific contract.
For example, if you need for someone to sign
your name to a specific real estate closing
contract while you are unavailable, you would
sign a limited power of attorney, granting
that person the power to sign your name to
a specific contract. |
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| Medical
Power of Attorney - A medical power
of attorney document designates a person to
medical decisions on your behalf, if you are
ever in a situation where you need medical
help, but are unable to communicate your wishes.
There are also advance notifications about
what types of medical service you would or
would not want. |
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