Sacramento Trust & Estates Attorneys

The legal practice of trusts and estates includes many areas of specialization. Because of the complexities of each area and their overlap, having an expert Sacramento, CA trusts and estates attorney handle these issues will prevent confusion after the death of a loved one and perhaps will prevent hurt feelings and misunderstandings. Both the dissolution of a business or estate and the creation of trusts require someone with experience and compassion to ensure your documents are legally sound.

Trusts

A trust is a fiduciary agreement that lets someone – called a trustee – hold assets for a beneficiary. If you and your Sacramento wills and trusts attorney have arranged a trust, your will likely can avoid being caught in probate, which is the legal process involved in validating a will. If your will does go to probate, it can be a lengthy process. Your beneficiaries may have to wait a long time to inherit, but worse, if a will is declared invalid, your assets may not go to your planned designee.

Other benefits of creating a trust include:

• Financial Control. You specify the terms of your trust, including who gets what assets, and when.
• Legacy Protection. You may have been financially responsible, but your heirs may not have been. A trust may prevent your heirs’ creditors from trying to seize assets.
• Probate Protection. Any will that goes to probate is public knowledge, and it costs money.

Estate Planning

Estate planning involves the dispensing of an estate. It is different than a will or trust, as it is arranged during a person’s life. The process of estate planning can remove any uncertainty about what will become of the estate after a person’s death. Proper estate planning can reduce the chance of probate. It can also increase the value of the estate by reducing taxes, among other expenses.

Many people think estate planning and trusts are for the very rich or the very old. This, however, is not the case. There are many benefits of trusts, and an estate attorney can offer assistance:

• Reduce estate taxes
• Manage enduring trusts
• Set up trusts for loved ones
• Help avoid probate
• Help with estates in probate
• Create living will/power of attorney
• Wills and trusts

Sacramento trust and estate lawyers handle many complex issues, including helping people create living wills and establish powers of attorney. A living will is a document that lets people explain their end-of-life wishes in the event they become incapacitated. This document is invalid after death.

A power of attorney is a document that lets you appoint an organization or a person to take care of your estate and affairs if you become unable to do it yourself. There are many types of powers of attorney that grant differing levels of control to your attorney-in-fact – the person you appoint to make decisions in your stead – and can concern different aspects of your life.

Experience Matters

Often, these issues overlap or seem very similar, so it’s crucial to have an attorney who understands the complexities of these laws. Though many of these documents sound alike, sometimes the details of what they accomplish are very different.  For instance, you may want to create a health care power of attorney – a person who will help you make current health care decisions – instead of a living will, which determines advanced directive and end-of-life decisions.

Any time a will goes to probate, your family could be involved in a public legal dispute. Practiced legal professionals can alleviate the concern that your estate won’t be handled the way you planned. Boyd Law in Sacramento has the experience necessary to minimize the prospect of probate and the fiscal costs associated with it. Trust our compassionate legal team to help you with trusts and estate planning in Sacramento.

Sources:

https://www.fidelity.com/estate-planning-inheritance/estate-planning/trusts

http://www.forbes.com/sites/russalanprince/2013/11/04/what-is-estate-planning/#309ffa827ee8

http://www.alllaw.com/articles/wills_and_trusts/article7.asp