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| 11271 Ventura Blvd. |
| Suite 473 |
| Studio City, CA 91604 |
| Phone: 877-479-7970 |
| Fax: 888-509-8864 |
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| Warner Center Towers |
| Phone: 877-479-7970 |
| Fax: 888-509-8864 |
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| Watt Plaza |
| Phone: 877-479-7970 |
| Fax: 888-509-8864 |
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| Fashion Island |
| Phone: 877-479-7970 |
| Fax: 888-509-8864 |
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An Overview of Estate Planning
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Estate planning allows an individual to plan for his or her lifetime objectives, effectuate asset protection, and to provide direction about the disposition of their assets upon death. Estate planning can include many tools, for example, wills, trusts, family limited partnerships (FLPs), limited liability companies (LLCs), powers of attorney, healthcare directives, etc.
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Estate Planning Basic Documents
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An estate plan allows an individual to ensure that their property will go to the people they want, in the manner they want, during a time when they may not be around to ensure compliance with their wishes. An estate plan can also reduce the tax liabilities of an estate, court costs, and attorney fees, and make it easier for families to cope with the administrative and financial issues that result from the loss of a family member.
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Typically, estate plans should typically include a durable power of attorney and a will. A durable power of attorney is a document that authorizes someone to make decisions for a person who has become incapacitated. (This may include decisions about the incapacitated person's property.) A will is a document that explains the distribution of property after death.
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Estate plans can also include documents relating to medical care. These documents may include a medical directive (also called an advance directive, a physician's directive, a written directive, or a durable power of attorney for healthcare) to designate a person to make healthcare decisions for a person who has become incapacitated; a healthcare proxy (also called a proxy directive), to designate a person to make healthcare decisions regardless of a person's incapacity; and a living will to express a person's desire regarding the use of extraordinary measures to extend their life when there is no reasonable expectation of recovery.
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Estate Planning and Financial Goals
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Estate planning can help to identify and plan for financial needs during life and after death. Such planning allows people to be prepared for funding large life expenses like: retirement, college, care during a time of unexpected illness or disability, and care for the needs of family members in the event of the death of a family member. To meet these financial goals and to ensure appropriate utilization of assets during life and the orderly and efficient distribution of assets after death, an estate plan may include making gifts to individuals and charities during life, purchasing life insurance, using revocable and irrevocable trusts, purchasing annuities, and rearranging personal and business interests.
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Asset protection strategies, healthcare directives, powers of attorney, will, trusts, entity formation and other estate planning devices are an integral part of the services that an estate planning attorney can provide.
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If you are ready to plan your estate, contact us at 877-479-7970, or e-mail us at info@law-thomas.com, to arrange for a confidential complimentary consultation.
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Q: What is a will?
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A: A will is a written legal document with instructions for distributing an individual's assets after his or her death. A will must be formally executed as required by state law to be legally valid and enforceable.
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Q: How can a person change his or her will?
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A: A will is typically valid and effective until it is revoked, destroyed, or invalidated by writing a new will. Alterations to an existing will, such as crossing out language or adding a new provision, do not usually meet the legal requirements for executing a valid will and do not affect the terms of an existing will; however, changes or additions to an existing will can be made by codicil. A codicil is a document executed in compliance with applicable state law that modifies an existing will or codicil.
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 How Much Estate Tax Will You Pay?
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This estate tax calculator adds up many different types of assets to get an estimated estate tax figure for your current estate.
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Social Security Administration Retirement Planner
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The federal Social Security Administration provides retirement planning and disability benefit information from this Web site.
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