Wills and Trusts

If you are one of the approximately 55 percent of Americans who do not have a will or an estate plan, your heirs are at a high risk of family conflict over your estate. Remember, your heirs may get along very well with each other today, but things change when there is an inheritance at stake. Failure to define your wishes for the division of assets with estate plans can lead to eroding of your assets, and ultimately, destruction of your legacy. Speak to an Orange County estate planning lawyer at the Citadel Law Corporation for help drafting a will that clearly establishes your guidelines for the distribution of your wealth.

Let our estate planning attorneys help. If you die without a will, California’s intestacy and estate law will apply to your estate. Your estate will go into probate, and the process could take months or even years to resolve. In other words, in the absence of a will or any other estate planning tools, there is a serious risk that the wealth that you accumulated painstakingly over the years will simply erode. Speak to an Orange County estate planning attorney for help with the estate plan and the following estate planning tools:

REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST

Worried that your beneficiaries will use the money left to them irresponsibly? Family estate planning can assure that you leave your assets as part of a revocable living trust that incentivizes the money that is distributed to beneficiaries. Call a living trust attorney at the Citadel Law Corporation and discuss establishing a trust like this to safeguard your wealth and pass it on to your heirs.

FUNDING YOUR REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST

Transferring your real and personal property into a living trust is a complicated process, with extensive documentation involved. Speak to a lawyer at the Citadel Law Corporation about how you can accomplish the transfer process safely.

ORGANIZING YOUR ASSETS

Making an inventory for the assets, evaluating their worth, and defining how you want those assets to be distributed after you are all critical aspects of your estate plan.

POUR-OVER WILLS

Your revocable living trust should be accompanied by a pour-over will that will allow assets that are not included in the trust to be transferred into the trust upon your death.

ATTORNEY CERTIFICATION OF TRUST

With the establishment of a revocable living trust, your attorney will also prepare an Attorney Certification of Trust that will serve as a single-page document that includes all of the important provisions of your trust.

POWERS OF ATTORNEY

These are critical estate planning tools that can be used for healthcare and financial services. Speak to an estate planning lawyer about assigning durable power of attorney to allow a person to make healthcare-related decisions on your behalf and financial power of attorney for making financial decisions on your behalf.

LIVING WILL

Also known as an advance healthcare directive, this legal document will contain all of the instructions for life-prolonging care when you’re incapacitated and unable to make those decisions for yourself.

AUTHORIZATION FORMS

These are medical release forms that contain information about your health and medical condition to be shared with third parties, when you’re seriously ill, and need such information to be shared with others, like insurers.

Whether it is drafting a will or setting up a revocable living trust, you need expert legal help to guide you through the process. Mistakes made in estate planning could prove very expensive for your heirs. At the least, it means that your estate will be tied up in probate for many years. At the worst, it could mean a full-blown court battle that could destroy your family.

Call (424) 239-6433 immediately to discuss your will with an Orange County wills and trusts attorney at the Citadel Law Corporation.