Estate Planning
Incapacity Planning
We help people in solving legal issues
Health Care Directive or Living Will
Power of Attorney
Health Care Power of Attorney
Financial Power of Attorney
Wills and Trusts
Last Will and Testament
A Last Will and Testament, commonly called a Will, takes effect upon death. Most people think of a Will as the way you decide where your stuff goes when you die. Determining where your assets go upon death, such as money, real estate, personal items, stocks, and business interests, is just one of the many uses for a Will. Other uses include designating guardians for minor children, creating trusts for children and others, appointing the person who will handle your affairs when you pass away, and saving on estate taxes.
Revocable Living Trust
A Revocable Living Trust is used as an alternative to a Will. In a Revocable Living Trust, you create a trust for yourself to hold your property and assets. You typically appoint yourself as Trustee, and you can take property and assets in and out of the trust whenever you want. The primary purpose of a Revocable Living Trust is to avoid Probate, the court process for paying the debts and distributing the property and assets of a deceased person.
Trust
A trust is an entity that holds property (real estate, cash, stocks, etc.), but the ultimate owner (“beneficiary”) of the property is not the person who controls and manages the property. That person is the Trustee. So if you set up a trust for your children, the property you put into the trust is owned by your children, but your children do not have control over the property and cannot manage it. The Trustee you appoint will manage and control the property based on the guidance you give in the trust document.
How We Work
Consultation
We offer a complimentary consultation to find you the most appropriate services and see if we are a good fit.
Design
We send you an Estate Planning Questionnaire and design a plan while communicating with you every step of the way.
Take Action
We create all the agreed upon documents and complete the process.
We Treat Clients like Family
Robert has been great. His expertise in realestate purchase and sale agreements saved us a major headache and provided us options to ensure we found a viable solution for all parties. Additionally Robert was timely in his response.
I spoke with Robert today to get advice on a will. He was friendly, knowledgeable and compassionate. He listened and addressed my questions straightforwardly and honestly. I recommend him wholeheartedly.
Mr. Franco listened to my situation and offered advice guiding me in a different direction than the course I had chosen. This has turned out to be a better direction by which to accomplish my goals.
FAQs For Wills
Yes. Probate is the court process for settling a person’s estate through a last will and testament. Your assets (real estate, bank accounts, stocks, etc.) will get distributed either by your last will and testament if you have one, or to your heirs according to the default state formula.
It depends on your situation, but in many cases, a will is enough for most people. Revocable trusts are useful because they can avoid probate and protect privacy.
A will can designate a guardian for minor kids and protect your money so they will be provided for later in life.
Even if you have a revocable living trust, you still want a backup or pour-over will in case you need to go to probate. In that case, the backup will can leave everything to your trust.
The executor is the person who is in charge of administering your estate when you pass away. That means paying your debts and distributing your assets to your beneficiaries.
Yes, a will can potentially help you save on estate and capital gains taxes.
FAQs For Trust
You should consider a revocable trust for several reasons. The most important reason to have a trust is to avoid probate.
A revocable trust can help you avoid probate, protect your privacy, reduce the risk of estate litigation after you pass away, and determine the character of property owed during marriage.
Even if you have a revocable living trust, you still want a backup or pour-over will in case you need to go to probate. In that case, the backup will can leave everything to your trust.
A revocable trust will not protect your assets from creditors while you are alive, but it may provide asset protection after you pass away.
Like a will, a revocable trust can help you save on estate and capital gains taxes if done properly.
The benefit of a revocable trust is mostly to avoid probate, and avoiding the time and cost of probate can be useful regardless of financial status.
FAQs For Incapacity Planning
No, a power of attorney is only valid when you are alive.
A power of attorney is a document that gives someone else the ability to make decisions for you if you are unable to.
If you become incapacitated, whether from a severe accident or something more gradual like dementia, and you do not have a power of attorney, your family may need to get an adult guardianship to care for you. A power of attorney is a far cheaper and easier solution than an adult guardianship.
This document gives medical providers
instructions on what to do in certain near-death situations. This is most often used to address the unlikely situation that you are on life support with no reasonable chance of recovery. A health care directive would allow your doctor to let you die in peace without artificially prolonging your life, at great emotional and financial cost to your family.