Planning Today To Prevent Future Problems With Your Estate
An estate plan serves three main purposes. It ensures that your assets pass to the right people when you die. It can also spare your loved ones from the costs, delays, and frustrations of the probate process. Lastly, it can prevent a conservatorship in the event you become incapacitated.
Estate planning is for everyone, not only for the elderly or the wealthy. And it should be personalized and designed to consider your goals and values. I am Cheryl Forbes, a California estate planning attorney in Red Bluff who has helped thousands of local residents create estate plans for protection and peace of mind. I look forward to helping you.
Estate Plan By Design: Customized Solutions By A Northern California Estate Planning Attorney
Effective estate planning can avoid court involvement. As an attorney who regularly helps families navigate probate proceedings or the aftermath when a family member dies without an estate plan, I can attest that avoiding probate is a legitimate goal. That process can be long, expensive and contentious.
As your trust and estate attorney, I will sit down with you to discuss your goals and the estate planning instruments appropriate for your circumstances, which may include:
- A last will and testament — Your will specifies who inherits and which specific assets or portion of your estate will go to each beneficiary. A will requires probate if your estate value is over the threshold amount.
- Trusts — The main purpose of a trust is to avoid probate. Your trust sets forth the guidelines of how the assets held in your trust will be administered and designates the beneficiaries (such as friends, family and/or charities) of the trust assets after you pass away.
- Powers of attorney — A power of attorney can help avoid the need for conservatorship by authorizing someone to manage your financial matters if you lose the capacity to manage them yourself.
- Advance health care directive — This document spells out your wishes regarding life support and end-of-life care. In California, an advance health care directive allows you to appoint someone to make medical decisions on your behalf, similar to a power of attorney, but only for health care. This document should be personalized to your values and give clear guidance to your loved ones and medical providers.
Estate Planning For Future Generations
An estate plan puts your legacy in writing. It allows you to keep family wealth in the family. It ensures that your wishes are known and honored when you pass away. As an estate planning lawyer, I enjoy getting to know my clients and helping them shape the future. Trust and estate planning is not necessarily complicated, but it is important to do it right. I draw on many years of focused practice in this area of law to set goals, problem-solve, and customize your documents.
My law firm, the Law Office of Cheryl A. Forbes, serves people in Tehama County and surrounding North State communities. Call my Red Bluff office at 530-527-7500 or email me to make arrangements. I offer a free consultation to explore my services and your needs.
