Developing A Comprehensive Estate Plan

Many people think estate planning is concerned solely with the transfer of assets to heirs upon death, and that only the wealthy need to do more than create a simple will. Both of these assumptions are wrong.

Estate planning is much more than transferring assets to heirs upon your death. It is also about protecting and preserving your assets and your independence while you are living. At the Bianco Law Firm, an estate planning lawyer will work with you to create an estate plan that meets your needs and that fulfills your wishes.

Here are some of the things you can accomplish with estate planning while you are living:

• By using trusts and asset transfers, you can protect your assets from being wiped out if you become disabled and need to enter a nursing home.
• By executing a California advance health care directive (often called a "living will"), you give instructions to care providers and loved ones whether life-sustaining equipment should be used if you are unable to express your wishes and have no hope of recovery. The advance health care directive also allows you to name someone to make health care decisions for you if you are not dying but are unable to communicate your wishes yourself.
• By establishing a charitable trust, you can give a portion of your estate to a charity you believe in. Your trust will not only benefit the charity but will also provide tax savings to you and your heirs.
• Through a by-pass trust and life insurance trust, you can minimize or eliminate estate taxes (also known as "death taxes").
• Through a special needs trust, you can provide a lifetime income for a disabled child without causing the child to become ineligible for government benefits such as SSI (Supplemental Security Income) or Medicaid.
• By distributing assets to heirs through a revocable trust or living trust instead of a will, you can eliminate the expense and delay of probate. This allows your heirs to receive more.
• Through powers of attorney, guardianships, and conservatorships, you can obtain the legal authority you need to care for an incapacitated parent or a disabled adult child.

There is no one estate plan that can meet the needs of every person. Everyone who has a preference about what happens to their property during their lifetimes or after their death should have an estate plan tailored to their needs.

The estate planning lawyers at the Bianco Law Firm also provide estate administration and probate services.

Nominal Fee For Estate Planning Consultation

Contact the estate planning lawyers at the Bianco Law Firm.