Newport Beach Estate Planning Attorneys
When people think of estate planning, they often think of wills, trusts and other estate planning documents. While estate planning does consist of a variety of critical legal documents, it is so much more.
At Velasco Law Group, we think of estate planning as a form of family protection. Careful estate planning has many important benefits. Proper estate planning allows you to:
- Transfer your property to your loved ones in accordance with your wishes
- Avoid or minimize exposure to estate taxes, thus allowing you to give more of your property and wealth to your family
- Minimize probate costs that can eat away at your loved one's inheritance
- Care for a domestic partner or significant other
- Express your wishes regarding key medical and end-of-life treatment services to protect your family from uncertainty that might otherwise result in conflict
- Provide for the welfare of a special needs child, a child with a history of poor spending habits or a child facing other challenges who may benefit from a trust with specific payment instructions
Contact our estate planning lawyers today to learn more about how estate planning can provide critical help to you and your family and give you peace of mind. For assistance, contact our law offices in Long Beach or Newport Beach, California.
The Tools We Use: Wills, Trusts and Other Estate Planning Documents
To accomplish the many goals of estate planning, we utilize a variety of estate planning documents and legal strategies that are tailored to meet the individualized needs of our clients. From a simple last will and testament to a complex trust and comprehensive estate plan, our attorneys have the knowledge to help ensure that the wealth accumulated during your life passes to the beneficiary of your choice, in the manner you desire, while minimizing taxes and increasing the efficiency of property transfers.
We understand that every estate, regardless of its size, is an important one. That is why we dedicate considerable time to designing plans that are tailored to meet each client's unique needs. Let us draft or review your estate planning documents, including:
- Wills: A validly executed will is essential to distribute your assets to your intended beneficiaries. Without a validly executed will, your property will be distributed in accordance with the rules of intestate succession and your property may not be distributed in the fashion you desire.
- Trusts: Irrevocable trusts and revocable living trusts may be utilized to reduce probate costs and avoid or minimize estate taxes. In addition to the basic revocable family trust, we draft a wide range of trust instruments, including intentionally defective grantor trusts, irrevocable life insurance trusts, special needs trusts, qualified personal residence trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts and charitable remainder trusts.
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Durable Powers of Attorney for financial and personal affairs: Durable Powers of Attorney are used to ensure that your chosen agents will have the ability to make financial decisions for you in the event of your incapacity, including the power to access your accounts, pay your bills and manage your financial affairs, file your tax returns, and otherwise deal with your personal affairs at a time when you are unable to do so.
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Advance health care directives and HIPAA authorizations: Advance health care directives will allow your agents to make important health care and end-of-life decisions for you when your doctor determines that you are no longer capable of making those decisions for yourself. It is also imperative that you sign the proper authorizations (e.g., HIPAA authorizations) to override the laws that prohibit your doctors and other health care providers from communicating with your loved ones about your health care matters or otherwise sharing your private medical information during a time of incapacity. Visit our health care directives section to learn more.
After these documents have been properly executed and notarized, we will present them to you in a personalized estate planning portfolio for your safekeeping. Your portfolio will also contain additional information for you and your executors and successor trustees to ensure a smooth administration at the appropriate time.
Contact Us
To speak with one of our Long Beach wills, trusts and estate planning attorneys, call 562-912-2175 or contact us by e-mail. To provide convenient, local representation to our clients, we now have law offices in Long Beach and Newport Beach, California.
