Estate Planning

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

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

Like over half of all Americans, you may be aware of the importance of having an estate plan in place, yet you have still not gotten around to creating one. In fact, you haven’t even executed a Last Will and Testament yet. In today’s electronic age, it can be very tempting to rectify that by turning to a “Do-It-Yourself” Will form you find on the internet. After all, using a DIY form would save you money and time, right? The reality is that while a DIY Will form might appear to save you time and … [Read more...] about Los Angeles Estate Planning Lawyer Explains the Danger in a DIY Will

As both your assets and your family grow, your estate plan should grow with them. You will soon find that a simple Last Will and Testament is not sufficient to meet all of your estate planning needs and goals. One of the most common additions to an estate plan is a trust agreement. The type of trust you establish will depend on your goals and objectives. If you are married to a foreign national, or non-citizen, your estate planning attorney may suggest that you include a Qualified Domestic … [Read more...] about Inglewood Trust Attorney Explains a QDOT Trust

Ideally, when a Settlor (the creator) of a trust agreement appoints a Trustee, they discuss the appointment with the intended Trustee first. That doesn’t always happen though. A surprising number of people only find out that they are the Trustee of a trust after the death of the Settlor in the case of a testamentary trust. If you find yourself facing Los Angeles trust administration, and you have never acted as the Trustee of a trust before, you are probably wondering where to start. One of the … [Read more...] about Are You Facing Los Angeles Trust Administration?

A power of attorney is one of the most commonly used estate planning documents. Most people execute at least one power of attorney, or POA, at some point during their lifetime. In fact, a POA is such a commonly used legal document that most people do not stop to think about the power behind a POA. If you have been asked to sign a POA, or you are contemplating creating one, you need to first make sure you understand what you are signing. Understanding the power in a California power of attorney … [Read more...] about Understanding the Power in a California Power of Attorney

Create an estate plan is something that everyone should do early on in life. Unfortunately, it is also something that people tend to put off for a variety of reasons.  If you have made the wise decision to get started on your estate plan, the best way to do so is to consult with an experienced California estate planning attorney; however, it never hurts to learn some estate planning basics ahead of time. If you are a woman, your estate planning needs may be different than those of your male … [Read more...] about Women’s Estate Planning Guide