Roseville Estate Planning

Roseville Estate Planning Attorneys

Protecting Your Future and Your Family

It is hard to start planning for your future, especially when you are planning for the worst-case scenario. Creating a guidebook for your family in the form of estate planning can alleviate your worries about providing for your family and your family’s concerns regarding your final wishes. After all, disputes, probate delays, and questionable medical decisions are all more likely to occur when instructions aren’t clear.

You may be tempted to take on these complex legal processes alone. You are probably bombarded with ads from websites that claim to make the estate planning process “cheap and easy.” But do you want to build your family’s future on the cheapest option out there? One without legal oversight, follow-up, and estate planning knowledge from an experienced California estate planning attorney?

Our law firm is here to take the guesswork out of it and provide you with compassionate legal guidance that will ensure you are given the one-on-one attention your case needs. We understand that our clients are unique, their situations vary, and what works for some won’t work for all. These DIY websites don’t.

Call 916-633-7709 to schedule a free consultation with the Law Offices of Daniel A. Hunt today.

What Documents Should Be Part of an Estate Plan?

A comprehensive estate plan isn’t just a will. It should include various documents covering a variety of topics. This makes it so your family, healthcare providers, trust administration, and executor never have to guess about what your intent was or what you would have wanted.

A comprehensive estate plan should include one or more of the following documents:

Will

This is the baseline of estate planning for most people. While it is a great place to start, it shouldn’t be your final destination. A will can:

  • Name beneficiaries
  • Appoint an executor to settle your estate
  • Include guardianship for minor children

However, wills may go through the probate process, and your beneficiaries will not have access to your assets until probate is completed. Probate does not offer privacy for your estate or your family, as the probate court process is part of public record.

Revocable Living Trusts

Living trusts and trusts in general are powerful estate planning tools. This legal document allows you to place ownership of assets in it, which removes them from your estate. That means avoiding probate, maintaining privacy, and an all-around quicker process. Living trusts allow you to:

  • Avoid probate
  • Alter the trust during your lifetime
  • Name trustees, successor trustees, beneficiaries, and successor beneficiaries
  • Get your assets to your loved ones faster, as the trust does not have to wait for probate to be completed before distribution

Durable Power of Attorney

Who will manage your financial matters should you become incapacitated? This document allows you to designate someone who can make important decisions for you, and also enables you to limit the specifics of their decision-making power.

Advance Healthcare Directive

This allows you to create a playbook that your family and healthcare providers will follow regarding major medical decisions should you become incapacitated. It also allows you to appoint someone you trust to make healthcare-related decisions that aren’t covered in your directive on your behalf.

This also allows you to include DNR or other end-of-life preferences, leaving nothing up to chance when it comes to respecting your final wishes.

What Happens If You Don’t Have an Estate Plan in Place?

If you don’t have an estate plan or your plan has gaps, you are leaving those important decisions up to chance.

If you don’t have a will when you pass away, the court will assign someone to act as your personal representative, taking the place of an executor. They will have to locate and value your assets, notify creditors without your assistance, and distribute your assets based on California intestacy laws instead of your preferences. That means that if you intended to leave any assets to a close friend or a loved one who isn’t legally related to you, they will get nothing.

If you don’t have a will but do have minor children and something should happen to you and your children’s other parent, you won’t have a say over who becomes the guardian of your children. Without a will, probate, an already lengthy process, can take even longer. Sometimes up to 2 years! And without your guidance, disputes can arise as your family members and loved ones argue over what they believe you wanted.

Without the other documents that come with a comprehensive estate plan, like a trust, your family will miss out on the asset protections and expediency they offer.

Building a well-rounded estate plan is crucial for properly protecting your family, ensuring your wishes are known, and easing the burden of settling your estate when you pass away.

How Often Should You Revisit Your Estate Plan?

Something those DIY sites don’t mention is that your estate plan isn’t something you complete and never update. When you experience major life changes, it is likely a good idea to sit with your attorney and update your will. It’s always a good idea to take a look at your estate plan every few years to ensure it is still in alignment with your needs.

Major Life Changes

Certain life events should trigger an update. This can include:

  • Marriage or divorce
  • Birth or adoption of a child
  • Death of a spouse, child, or named beneficiary
  • Significant changes in financial status or assets
  • Relocation
  • Changes in your business or business partners
  • Retirement or major shifts in income

Legal and Tax Changes

The DIY sites won’t notify you when California or federal laws change, or estate taxes or trust regulations are adjusted, which could impact your plan. The Law Offices of Daniel A. Hunt will, though.

Risks of Not Updating

The goal of an estate plan is to reduce the burden on your family after you pass away. Your estate plan isn’t nearly as effective when it becomes outdated. It may include beneficiaries that have passed away or exited your life. Your executor or trust administrator may no longer be able to perform their duties. Your plan may even include instructions for assets you don’t even own anymore, leaving your executor scratching their head after you pass away.

An Attorney Who Knows You

The fact of the matter is that an attorney who gets to know you and your circumstances is far more effective than a template you fill out online. When things change, we will give you a call. When you get married or divorced, we remind you to stop by and update your documents. We see you as not a client, but as someone with goals and a family to care for.

Call 916-633-7709 to schedule a free consultation with an estate planning attorney who wants what’s best for you and your loved ones.