About Estate Planning
Santa Rosa Estate Planning Attorney
Estate planning can be a complex matter, and many people have put it off, later causing problems for their heirs. It is always strongly advised that you have legal counsel from a Santa Rosa estate planning attorney to ensure that all your affairs are correctly arranged with your personal goals fully reflected in the documentation drafted for your estate. An estate plan includes a number of vital documents, including the following components:
Revocable Living Trust (involving tax planning and sub-trust for your beneficiaries)
- Pour Over Wills
- Durable Powers of Attorney for financial management (incapacity)
- Health Care Directives (also incapacity)
- Physician's Directive or Living Will
- Community Property Agreement (married couples)
- General Assignment of Personal Property
- Funeral Instructions
- Personal Property Distribution Directions
It also includes the following array of transfer documents:
- Trust Transfer Deeds for all real estate (including unimproved property)
- Change of Ownership Form, Instruction Letter, and Certification of Trust for each bank account and non tax-deferred brokerage and investment accounts
- Assignment of Partnership and LLC interests to the Revocable Trust
- Instruction Letters for re-issuance of stock certificates
- Change of Beneficiary forms and instruction letters for change of beneficiary on direct transfer assets, such as IRA's, 401(k)'s, annuities, and life insurance (plus all the income tax and estate tax ramifications of your different choices)
Affordable Estate Planning in Santa Rosa
Our initial interview is to find out what your personal goals are as well as the details of your estate in order to begin the process of creating a personal estate plan that reflects your wishes for your family or extended family and others you may wish to include in your plan. I will intake information on your family and the particulars of your estate such as the value of your property and other assets such as real estate, investment accounts as well as other types of assets. We want you to bring in copies of statements and deeds for everything, so that if we decide to work together, we've got all the information we will need to do a full service estate plan at a very reasonable cost. (See
fee schedule).
The appointment is also a legal review of your options and a personal exploration of what you want to accomplish with your estate plan, with advice inclusive of tax planning, such as the effects of estate tax, income tax, capital gains taxes, and property taxes. I will also address personal concerns as, "can I control my financial life completely after my spouse is gone?" Whatever the situation is that you face, even when the spouses may not fully agree on how the situation should resolve, we work together to find a solution that reflects the wishes of each party, even if you are stuck. A professional can sometimes make a big difference in pulling you out of the confusion and finding a solution that brings about resolution and peace of mind for both.
Contact Santa Rosa Estate Planning Attorney
James D. Krupka today.