RJS LAW’s estate planning team is dedicated to creating a custom estate plan for your needs. Our team has the training, knowledge, and familiarity with California estate planning law to create the right estate plan for you. Whether you’re in Los Angeles, Orange County, or San Diego, we can make sure your objectives are met specific to our private wealth services.
Our Private Wealth Services include:
- Family Office Services
- International Private Client Group
- Nonprofit and Tax-Exempt Organizations
- Offshore Tax Compliance
- Private Companies
- Probate
- Trust Administration
- Trusts, Estate, and Fiduciary Litigation
- Wealth Planning and Preservation
Estate Planning Attorneys in San Diego, Orange County, and El Cajon
An estate plan offers a way to preserve your estate during your lifetime so that when it comes time to distribute your assets to your loved ones, it is done with as little court involvement as possible. It’s never too early to start an estate plan.
Who Needs an Estate Plan?
We recommend everyone has an estate plan. Why?
- To protect your home and other assets
- To protect and ensure the succession of your business
- To protect your children and guarantee the right person takes care of them
- To plan for incapacity and death
- To minimize estate taxes and other transfer taxes
- To avoid the costs and delay of probate
- To control how and to who will receive inheritance
We provide a wide-range of customized estate plans tailored to your objectives, with the strategy to minimize tax consequences, avoid the cost and delay of probate, and secure your legacy. During your initial consultation, we will listen carefully to your objectives, concerns, and unique circumstances. We will advise you on various types of estate planning documents, such as Trusts, Wills, Powers of Attorney, Advance Health Care Directives, and Property Agreements. Let us help you decipher the tax consequences of generation skipping transfers, gifting, and setting up family business entities.
The transfer of wealth from generation to generation must be carefully planned. This area of law in private wealth services has many intricacies and having a seasoned trust and estate attorney help review your personal and business financial background is integral to creating an estate plan that supports your vision for the future. Estate planning is a necessity at all stages in life.
Is a Trust Right for You?
Creating a trust either for family or business purposes, is a wonderful tool to have in place to protect your assets and ensure the financial well-being of yourself and your family. The benefit of a trust is that you can avoid probate and the costs and fees associated with it. For example, an estate worth $500,000 will costs $13,000 in statutory attorney fees and $13,000 in statutory personal representative fees. That’s over 5% of the estate! For $1 million estates, it costs $23,000 in statutory fees and $23,000 in personal representative fees.
What is a Revocable Trust?
A Revocable Trust may be revoked at any point in time by the Grantor. The Grantor is the individual who creates a trust by transferring legal title of their assets to the trust. As long as the Grantor is alive and has the mental capacity to make decisions, they can individually manage the trust assets as they always have prior to the transfer. When transferring property to a trust, a new deed must be prepared and submitted for recording.
What is an Irrevocable Trust?
An Irrevocable Trust may no longer be changed or altered by the Grantor. You can no longer take your assets back once they have been transferred into the trust and you cannot individually act as trustee or manage the trust assets. Your desire in forming the trust is to transfer the assets and step aside in order to let the trust fulfill its purpose and run its course. Also be aware that a revocable trust immediately becomes an irrevocable trust upon the death of the Grantor because they are no longer alive to alter the trust.
What Does a Trust Provide?
A trust is a tool that is used as part of a comprehensive estate plan to protect you and your family in times of incapacity. Having a trust may protect your assets from creditors, help your family avoid going through probate after your passing, or other difficult financial situations when you are no longer around.
Why hire an attorney to help you with your estate planning or trust creation?
Having a comprehensive estate plan in place can protect your family and legacy for years to come and provide for future generations. This area of the law has many intricacies and having a seasoned trust and estate attorney help review your personal and business financial background is integral to creating an estate plan that supports your vision for the future. Contact RJS Law today by calling one of our office numbers or filling out a contact form to schedule an initial consultation.
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