Estate Planning

If you have a comprehensive estate plan in place already, you are ahead of over half the population in the United States. Clearly, you understand the importance of having an estate plan as well as the benefits derived from a well thought out plan. Don’t make the mistake, however, of thinking you no longer need to worry about your estate plan. For your plan to provide maximum benefits, it must be reviewed and revised from time to time. To illustrate this point, a Windsor Hills estate planning … [Read more...] about Remember to Update Your Beneficiary Designations

Given how popular trusts are within an estate plan, there is a very good chance that you will be directly involved in a trust at some point in your life. Trusts are broadly divided into testamentary and living trusts with the latter being further divided into revocable and irrevocable living trusts. If you are faced with the desire to modify or terminate an irrevocable living trust you may assume that it cannot be done; however, that is not entirely true. A Crenshaw Trust Attorney at Collins Law … [Read more...] about Is It Possible to Modify an Irrevocable Living Trust?

A basic estate plan helps you create a roadmap for the distribution of your estate assets after you death. A more comprehensive estate plan, however, can accomplish much more. Protecting the wealth that you accumulate over the course of your lifetime, for example, is a goal that can be furthered within your estate plan. A Los Angeles estate planning attorney explains three of the most popular wealth protection strategies that you might choose to include in your estate plan. Wealth Protection … [Read more...] about Top 3 Wealth Protection Strategies

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 the majority 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 Group offers some factors to consider when deciding whether a Will or a trust should be used to … [Read more...] about Should I Use a Will or a Trust to Distribute My Estate?

For most people, a primary motivating factor for the creation of an estate plan is the ability to dictate who inherits from their estate. What happens though, if your biggest concern is not who does inherit from your estate, but who does not inherit from your estate? A renowned Los Angeles estate planning attorney at Collins Law Group explains how to disinherit an heir from your estate plan. Who Are My Heirs? If it is important to you to be the one to determine what happens to your assets … [Read more...] about Can I Disinherit an Heir to My Estate?

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 When Is Leaving an Equal Inheritance Not the Best Decision?

One of the most popular additions to a well thought out estate plan is a trust. One reason trusts are so popular is the multitude of estate planning goals that can be achieved with a trust. If you plan to include a trust in your estate plan, you will need to appoint a Trustee to oversee the administration of the trust. If you have never before created a trust, you may be a bit intimidated at the thought of having to choose a Trustee. The Los Angeles trust administration attorneys at Collins Law … [Read more...] about Questions to Ask When Choosing a Trustee