Estate Planning
Planning for Everyone You Love and Everything You Have
Do you know what would happen to you, your loved ones, your money, and everything else you care about if something unexpected happened to you?
If you have an estate plan and it is out of date, your assets could be lost to the State Department of Unclaimed Property, or to an unnecessary probate court process.
To best preserve your legacy, find out exactly what would happen to everyone you love and everything you own, legally and financially, after you are gone. Then you can decide if the current state of your plan is acceptable.
How Do We Help You With Estate Planning?
What can our team do for you? A lot. During a Family Legacy Planning Session, you will get all the information you need from our experienced team. You will complete a Family Wealth Inventory and Assessment, which will assess what you own and will clarify areas of focus for your estate planning. If we both decide that it is a fit to work together, then our estate planning attorneys will help you ensure that your legacy attends to any and all future needs of your family.
The foundation of your estate plan will often include setting up a living trust; when done correctly and maintained over time, your trust should help your family avoid the cost and delay of probate and minimize or eliminate estate taxes.
No matter how complex your needs are in planning for the future, we provide customized advanced estate planning services.
Can I DIY My Estate Plan?
The short answer is “yes,” but why would you want to? Unfortunately, most DIY plans don't work because much of what passes for “DIY estate planning” is little more than word processing. You are asked a few questions and then the drafter or program you are using decides which "plan" is right for you, and fits you into a template. This is not estate planning; it is little more than a “search and replace” of your family’s name and then a hit of the “print” button which spits out form documents.
If you want an actual “plan” and you want to be certain that you plan will work when your family needs it most, then you really shouldn’t DIY your own estate plan.
We Are Professional Estate Planners
Your Family Legacy Lawyer at Atlantis Law will educate you, take the time to get to know you, your family, your concerns, your goals and your issues and will gladly and patiently answer all your questions to produce an estate plan that is exactly right for you and will keep your loved one’s out of court and out of conflict.
If you are a family with young children, then your estate plan should begin with a foundation that ensures your children would always be taken care of, no matter what happens. At Atlantis Law, one of our greatest areas of expertise is protecting minor children.
Planning for Everyone You Love and Everything You Have
Request a consultationAreas of Estate Planning
At Atlantis Law, a living trust attorney will help you craft a plan that will safeguard your loved ones from unnecessary time and money spent in probate. By placing your assets in a living trust, you can access them while living, and ensure that they are safe from taxation after your passing. When you want your loved ones to benefit from the full extent of your legacy, a living trust is a great tool.
There are different types of trusts that work best for different people. Your best course of action is to sit down with an expert and learn more about why your legacy will benefit from setting up a living trust.
Your will can be the foundational building block of your legacy. Your California last will and testament is the blueprint you leave behind letting your loved ones know how you would like your assets handled. Crafting a will is no simple matter, however. There are many types of wills and many important questions to be answered before a will can be finalized.
An estate planning attorney at Atlantis Law can help guide you through what to put in your will and what you should never put in your will. Any mistake in the estate planning process now can cost your loved ones time and money after you are gone.
Your health care directive is an integral piece of your legacy. It helps your loved ones by outlining how you would like to be cared for in case of serious illness or injury. When you are unable to communicate how you would like to be treated, this powerful document ensures that your wishes are followed.
A skilled estate planning professional will help you craft a health care directive that will protect your rights, and protect your loved ones from painful decisions during difficult times. It is an often overlooked, yet integrally important element of your enduring legacy.
If something happens to you, and you are no longer able to make important legal, financial, and medical decisions for yourself, your powers of attorney protect your legacy and ensure that your wishes are followed. Now is the time to plan for the unknowable. By setting up your powers of attorney now, you know that someone will be there to step in when you need it most.
When setting up your powers of attorney, it is crucial to get it right with the help of a seasoned professional. Any minor mistake on your California power of attorney form could put your legacy in jeopardy. At Atlantis Law, we ensure that your estate plan in foolproof and reliable.
