A Living Trust can give you peace of mind knowing that you have a comprehensive, personalized, and thoughtful plan in place for your own protection and also for the benefit of your loved ones after you are gone.
Protecting you and your family:
Plan for the future with the help of April A. Verlato, Attorney at Law. We can prepare a living trust or will for you. Our office also handles probate and trust administration.
Services:
Living Trust, Will, Power of Attorney, Health Care Directive, Trust Administration, and Probate
Call April A. Verlato, Attorney at Law today at 626-445-2411 to schedule your FREE initial consultation, and start planning for the future!
Why have an estate plan?
To control who receives your assets when you die. If you have not done any formal planning prior to your death, the State of California will tell your heirs who gets what, and how much of your estate they will get.
What is a health care directive?
An HCD is a document which memorializes your wishes regarding medical treatment and it appoints an agent to speak on your behalf if and when you become unable to do so.
A trust would be recommended over a will for the following reasons:
If you have significant assets, your estate may be subject to Estate Taxes. Proper estate planning can minimize, and sometimes even eliminate your estates liability for these taxes.
Probate is expensive. There are fees to be paid to the Executor of the estate and to the attorney handling the probate. Probate is also time consuming. It is common for a probate case to last a year or longer before assets are distributed. And, probate is a public proceeding. Anyone will have access to the list of your assets when you die, and a list of your heirs and how much they will be getting.
If you have become incapacitated and cannot manage your affairs, your family and friends would need to petition the Probate Court to appoint a conservator for you to manage your affairs. A properly drafted trust would include detailed instructions on how your property is to be managed for your benefit and a named successor trustee could take over during your incapacity.
