Estate Planning

When someone decides to create a trust, one of the most important decisions they must make is who to appoint as the Trustee. If you were recently notified that someone appointed you as the Trustee of their trust, and you have never before acted as a Trustee, you may feel a bit overwhelmed. As a Los Angeles trust administration attorney at Collins Law Firm explains, the key to performing your new role of Trustee well is to gain a complete understanding of trust administration and the duties and … [Read more...] about What Are the Duties and Responsibilities of a Trustee?

Every adult can benefit from having a comprehensive estate plan in place; however, for some adults estate planning takes on heightened importance. Parents with minor children, for example, have even more reason than the average person to have a well-thought-out estate plan in place for several reasons. If you are the parent of a minor child, it is in your best interest, and that of your child, to work closely with an experienced California estate planning attorney to ensure that your child(ren) … [Read more...] about Tips for Parents with Minor Children

For most people, the ability to decide how their estate assets are distributed after they are gone is a primary motivation for creating an estate plan. If that is one o your primary estate planning goals, you will need to decide exactly how you want most of your assets to be distributed – via a Last Will and Testament or a trust agreement. A Los Angeles estate planning attorney at Collins Law Firm offers some factors to consider when deciding whether a Will or a trust should be used to … [Read more...] about Is a Will or a Trust Better for Distributing Estate Assets?

When you think about the need for an estate plan, you likely focus on the desire to ensure that your estate is distributed according to your wishes after you are gone. While that is certainly a strong motivating factor in the creation of most estate plans, a comprehensive estate plan can accomplish much more. Probate avoidance, for example, is a common secondary goal for many people. Much confusion, however, exists regarding how to structure an estate plan so that an estate avoids probate. The … [Read more...] about Can I Avoid Probate by Executing a Will?

If you are a parent, your primary motivation for creating an estate plan is to ensure that your estate passes to your children when you are gone. Exactly how your estate assets are distributed, however, can be the source of much internal debate. One question you may wrestle with is whether you should split your estate equally among your children. Many parents feel obligated to create an equal split in their estate plan, despite having reservations about whether that is really the best idea. … [Read more...] about Deciding How to Divide Your Estate Among Your Children

Estate planning, by definition, involves making plans for your estate assets in the event of your death. Your estate consists of all real and personal property as well as tangible and intangible assets owned by you, or in which you share an ownership interest, at the time of your death. Assets such as your home, vehicles, investment accounts, and securities likely come to mind when you contemplate estate planning; however, there is another category of assets that may also need to be considered – … [Read more...] about How to Include Intellectual Property in Your Estate Plan

Estate planning can seem a little overwhelming to someone who is new to the concept. Knowing that the components that make up your estate plan will likely represent the most important set of legal documents you execute over the course of your life can be intimidating. Along with the need to make potentially life-altering decisions, you will also need to work with estate planning tools and strategies that are unfamiliar to you. Among the most basic of those tools is a Last Will and Testament and … [Read more...] about 5 Things You Need to Know about Wills and Trusts

Although a Last Will and Testament remains the most commonly used of all estate planning tools, a living trust is not far behind. If you are planning to incorporate a living trust into your estate plan, are you already have one, you should know some of the most important features and benefits of a living trust. You also need to know when the trust terminates. Toward that end, the living trust lawyers at Collins Law Firm explain how and when a living trust terminates in California. What Is a … [Read more...] about When Does My Trust End?