Don’t Jump From the “Probate Frying Pan” Into the “Estate Planning Fire”

, , ,

probate court 91024Many people are familiar with probate and all of the headaches which it entails. Whether they’ve lost a loved one or a friend, no one who goes through the probate process looks at it with a friendly gaze.

I often have clients come into my office having made an attempt to avoid probate on their own. Commonly, they have tried to avoid it by adding children’s names to real property, investment accounts, or bank accounts. While they may have succeeded in ensuring their children will avoid probate, they have usually created a much bigger problem.

When you purchase an asset (such as stock in a corporation or piece of real estate) you are assigned a “basis” in the property. Your basis is the value you paid for the property. For example, if you bought an investment property for $100,000, your basis in the property is exactly that: $100,000. If you sell the property for more than you paid for it, you have to pay capital gains tax on the difference.

If you give away your property (or add someone’s name to the deed), their basis in the property becomes the same as yours. In the scenario above for example, if a child’s name was added to a real property deed, the child’s basis in the property would be $100,000. When the parent dies and the child goes to sell the house, the child has to pay capital gains tax on the difference between their basis and what sales price of the property.

So how do you avoid forcing your children to pay capital gains taxes? By NOT adding them to the deed or account!

If your child inherits the property through a revocable living trust, your child will get a “step up” in their basis to fair market value at the date of your death. Thus, if the property above was worth $300,000 at the date of death, the child’s basis becomes $300,000 when they inherit it. This means that if your child goes to sell the property, they will pay no capital gains taxes.

Finally, gifting to your children has other dangerous pitfalls. If you add children’s names to property or accounts, you are subjecting those assets to potential risk if your child were to accidentally injure someone or run up a credit card.

By far, the safest way to pass your family’s wealth on to your children is through a fully funded revocable living trust. Setting up and funding a revocable living trust avoids probate, protects your children from unnecessary taxes, and gives you the ability to protect their inheritance from divorce, lawsuits, and creditors.

Perhaps you already know all of this. Perhaps you don’t. But if you’d like more information on protecting and passing wealth to your children, call our office to schedule an appointment or to RSVP for our next free public seminars (at The Lodge in Sierra Madre: Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015, 6:00 – 8:00 pm & Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015, 10:00 am – noon).

To your family’s health, wealth, and happiness,

/0 Comments/by

If You Have a Trust, Don’t Settle for a False Sense of Security – Part III

,

estate planning 91024There are three critical aspects to estate planning. Let’s review: first, a customized set of documents unique to your situation and goals should be the foundation of your plan; second; the plan must be properly and completely funded (your assets must actually be transferred into the plan). So what’s the third?

Once you have your documents in place and your plan fully funded, you can’t simply stick it on your shelf, check it off your bucket list, and assume it will work like you need it to 20 or 30 years from now. If you don’t periodically review (and update, when necessary) your plan you have only managed to buy yourself a false sense of security.

Over time your assets will change. You may buy property; you may sell property. Your stock portfolio may lose value; you may receive an inheritance. There are thousands of things which can – and will – change with your estate (your estate is simply the legal way of saying, “all the stuff you own”). Your plan needs to adapt and transform to your changing financial situation.

Over time your family dynamic will change. There may be births; there may be deaths. There may be marriages; there may be divorces. Your kids will grow up; you may have grandkids on the horizon. Your plan needs to acclimate and adjust to your ever evolving family.

Over time the laws regarding estate planning will change. For example, the estate tax exemption has been as low as $600,000 and as high as unlimited over the last two decades. The estate tax rate has been as high as 55% and as low as 35% over that same period. The laws in this area change all the time. Your plan needs to change and adapt to meet whatever new laws Washington throws at you from year to year.

That’s why my firm reviews our clients’ plans every 1 to 3 years – at no additional charge. And if your plan isn’t being reviewed at least as often, you may be living with a false sense of security… and ultimately, it’s your family’s security that’s on the line. Do NOT let that happen!

You cared enough to put a plan in place. Make sure it is up to date with your present situation, your family goals, and the current laws. That’s the only way to ensure your plan will protect and provide for your family as you intend, when it’s needed.

If you already have a plan in place and haven’t had it reviewed recently, it’s time for a checkup. And if you’re ready to put a plan in place to provide the protection your family deserves, be sure to ask your attorney how often they will review the plan and how much extra that will cost.

I recommend putting an attorney on your team who will take care of all that for you, so you don’t even have to think about it. That’s the only real way to make sure it’s not forgotten about and that your plan stays up to date, providing a “real” sense of security rather than a false one.

Dedicated to your family’s health, wealth, and happiness,
Marc Garlett 91024

/0 Comments/by

If You Have a Trust, Don’t Settle for a False Sense of Security – Part II

,

house of money

Last week I talked about how boilerplate documents often cause trusts to fail. This week I’m going to talk about funding. Funding is the fancy legalese way of saying, “transferring assets into the trust” and it is just as important as having a solid, customized set of documents. You can have the best set of documents in the world, but if the funding isn’t done correctly you’ve just wasted a bunch of paper (not to mention your time, energy, and money).

Improper, incomplete, or nonexistent funding causes trusts to fail more often than you can probably imagine. In fact, it happens all the time. Just last week I got a call from a widow whose husband just passed away a few weeks before. The couple had set up a trust but only after the husband died did the wife realize their house had been pulled out of the trust (defunded) for a mortgage refi, but never put back (funded) into the trust. Now she is left facing probate, capital gains taxes, and a host of other problems that could have – and should have – been avoided.

Unfortunately online legal document services (and even most lawyers) don’t include funding as part of their service to clients. This means lots of people who’ve paid for a set of legal documents think their estate plan is all in order. But without properly funding the plan, it’s not worth the paper it’s written on. That leaves these unfortunate folks (and their families) with a false sense of security which catches up to them when the trustor dies and the plan fails.

So how can you avoid a false sense of security with the funding of your estate plan? First of all, talk to your preparer about funding before committing to doing your planning with them. Ask questions: How do they support clients to ensure plans are fully and properly funded? Do they charge extra to answer funding questions when they come up (as they surely will)? Do they offer the option of fully funding your plan for you? If not, will they at least prepare and file your deed transfer documents so your house – your most valuable asset – is properly funded into your plan?

Avoid document preparation services altogether as they will offer very limited funding support if any at all. And if the attorney or firm you’re thinking of doing your planning with doesn’t focus on funding just as much as they do on documents, do your family a favor and find someone who does. Also, beware the cheapest alternatives. Cheap estate planners are cutting costs (and corners) someplace, and that’s often in the area of funding. Why? Because most consumers aren’t aware of funding issues let alone educated enough about funding to demand that level of service.

Remember, getting your documents in place is only the beginning (even though that’s where most legal services and law firms stop). Don’t let them short change you. Demand that any plan they create be properly and fully funded. If they don’t offer funding as part of their service package, do not engage them to do your planning. If you do, you will likely be left with a false sense of security and your family will be left holding the bag.

If you’re going to do your estate planning, do it right. Make sure your plan documents are tailor made for your own unique situation and goals. Then make sure all of your assets are funded into the plan. You deserve a real sense of security and so do your loved ones.

To your family’s health, wealth, and happiness,
Marc Garlett 91024

/0 Comments/by

If You Have a Trust, Don’t Settle for a False Sense of Security – Part I

, ,

Estate Planning 91024It is estimated that more than 80 % of trusts fail at the trustor’s death. EIGHTY PERCENT! What a shameful statistic. Think about it. Out of every five people who put the time, effort, and money into creating a trust, only one of them actually protects and provides for their family as they intended. That means the vast majority of people with a trust have nothing more than a false sense of security while they are living and leave their family with a big mess to clean up after they die.

There are three equally important phases to trust-making. Neglect any of these phases and your trust is likely to fail. Phase 1 is the actual creation of your estate plan documents. This includes not only the trust, but many other critical documents as well (your will, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, HIPAA waiver, kids protection plan, etc.). Each of these documents should be customized to your own specific situation, goals, and assets. Remember, your family is unique and your estate plan should be, too.

The courts are filled with cases where simple, fill-in-the-blank, template wills or trusts, downloaded from the internet, led to family disputes, ugly probates, expensive litigation, and hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more) in lost inheritance for intended beneficiaries. The recent family quarrel over an “E-Z Legal Form” estate plan serves as one such cautionary tale. But all one really has to do with such services is read the fine print, such as the Legalzoom disclaimer, to be very clear they’re just selling documents, without any legal guidance, advice, direction, or guarantee about what they mean or whether they’ll even work.

Unfortunately, people who get sold on saving a few thousand dollars now by doing it themselves, often force their families to hand over tens of thousands of dollars to lawyers later, to straighten out the mess they’ve left behind. Of course many times those messes cannot be straightened out at all. But it’s not just online legal services selling a false sense of security. I’ve also heard far too many stories of cut-rate, cheaper-than-anyone-else lawyers whose plans don’t work when they’re needed. And yet again, it’s families who are left holding the bag.

This should all be malpractice, if you ask me. Regrettably, it’s common practice instead. So what can you do to protect yourself – and more importantly, protect your family? Here’s how NOT to get sold a false sense of security:

  1. If the lawyer or service you’re using to prepare your estate plan doesn’t first spend some serious time asking you questions, getting to know you, your background, and your goals, they are much more interested in selling you a set of documents than a plan that will actually work. And if they quote you a fee before getting to know you first, that’s a good indication they are never going to invest their time in you.
  2. Ask the lawyer or service if they are available to provide guidance and answer questions throughout the process. If they answer is no, move on. If the answer is yes, ask them how much they charge for that. If it’s not included as part of a flat fee, they are clearly more concerned about selling documents than they are about providing good legal counsel.
  3. Determine if the plan fee is too good to be true. If the lawyer or service undersells everyone else, that’s a big red flag. It takes a lot of work and time to customize a plan for someone so it is guaranteed to perform as intended. Cut-rate firms and services work on a volume based business model. Their goal is to sell you a set of documents with the smallest time investment possible, then move on.

You can, and should, strive to do better than that. Don’t settle for a lawyer or service who’s just in the business of selling documents. There’s too much at stake and your family has too much to lose. The documents are critically important but they should not be the sole focus of the lawyer or service you work with. The documents alone won’t give you real security – the kind of security both you and your family deserve.

To your family’s health, wealth, and happiness,
Marc Garlett 91024

/0 Comments/by

Is Your Living Trust Really Going to Work For the People You Love?

, , , ,

Legacy Planning 91024Traditionally, one of the primary reasons for establishing a living trust has been to avoid probate. But your living trust that can help you accomplish much more than that, if it’s set up correctly:

Asset protection for heirs. One of the most significant benefits of a living trust can be to protect inherited assets for heirs. For example, because minor children are not allowed by law to inherit property, a guardian is appointed by the state to hold the property for them until they reach the age of 18. Most parents would agree, however, that 18 is still too young to manage even a modest inheritance. Executing a living trust on the other hand, allows you to control how and when an inheritance is distributed and to name a trusted person to act as trustee. In addition, a living trust can be especially useful in protecting assets from spendthrift heirs, their creditors or a potential divorce, if it’s set up right.

Most living trusts I review have been set up to distribute assets outright to kids at age 21, 25, or 30 instead of keeping assets in trust for the life of the kids – and eventually giving the kids control of those assets. This type of planning is still fairly unknown to most attorneys, but can ensure that what you leave to your kids will not be at risk from any future divorces, lawsuits, bankruptcies or other creditor matters.

Ensure none of your assets are lost. The vast majority of the time a living trust is created, one of the most important and valuable aspects of creating the trust is lost — making sure that when you become incapacitated or die your loved ones stay out of Court and the assets you’ve worked so hard for make it to the people you want to have them.

If your assets are not titled in the name of your trust correctly, that won’t happen. Your loved ones will have to go to Court to take ownership and control of your assets. And, oftentimes, they may not even be able to find your assets. There are currently billions of dollars in assets sitting in the State Departments of Unclaimed Property because people die and their loved ones didn’t know what they had.

One of the things we do in our office is prepare a Family Wealth Inventory to ensure your assets are easily located by your family. As long as it is kept up to date (and we help with that, too) you’ll never have to worry that what you are working so hard to create will be lost when you are gone.

Plus, when you have a relationship with our office, we’ll make sure your loved ones know just what to do if anything ever happens to you.

Incentivize your children to grow your wealth, not squander it. As I mentioned, most trust plans are crafted to distribute assets outright to kids when they turn certain ages, whether they are ready for it or not. And chances are that if you die when your kids are still young, they will not be ready to fully inherit your wealth at an early age.

We recommend you use your living trust to properly prepare your children to receive their inheritance. That means allowing them to be a co-trustee for some period of time before receiving full control of their trust assets. It means introducing them to us, if we are your lawyer, so we can begin to help guide them during your lifetime and not wait until after you are gone.

You may also want to consider making small lifetime gifts into an irrevocable trust for their benefit so you can start to teach them how to grow the assets while you are living and enter into a partnership for creating more family wealth that can last for generations.

One of the main goals of my law firm is to help families like yours plan for the safe, successful transfer of wealth to the next generation. Call our office today if you have a trust that hasn’t been reviewed recently or if you’re ready to get a comprehensive plan in place to protect your loved ones.

To your family’s health, wealth, and happiness,
Marc Garlett 91024

 

/0 Comments/by

What to Do When a Spouse Suddenly Dies

,

GolbergThe 47-year-old SurveyMonkey CEO Dave Goldberg, husband of Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and the father of two small children, died suddenly – and far too young – on May 1, 2015.

Money, youth and success are no deterrents to tragedy. Reportedly, Goldberg died while doing an activity we all hope extends life — exercising. According to the New York Times, while Goldberg was on vacation in Mexico with family and friends, he fell off a treadmill and died of head trauma.

Sheryl Sandberg is reported to be worth $1 billion herself, so her family will not face the same financial challenges as others who experience similar tragedies, yet there are still important estate planning considerations Sheryl must face now regardless of her wealth.

And these estate planning considerations are lessons for all of us who have children and/or families we care about, whether we have $1 hundred or $1 billion.

First and foremost: the children.

Sheryl is now a single mom. She has spoken often about how much she relies on her husband and now that he is no longer there, she’ll need to identify others to support her in raising the kids.

On top of that, Sheryl will absolutely need to make sure she has named legal guardians for her kids, in case anything happens to her. And just naming guardians in a Will is not enough.

Sheryl needs to have a comprehensive Kids Protection Plan – naming both short and long-term guardians and giving clear instructions to the people named along with all of her caregivers – to ensure that if anything happens to her, her kids are never in the custody of strangers, but always under the care and guidance of those she chooses.

Once Sheryl’s got a Kids Protection Plan in place, she will need to think about probate and estate tax issues and how she can ensure that her family stays out of Court. She’ll want to keep as much of her financial assets as possible with her family and as little as possible going to the government upon her death.

Let’s examine the court issue in more detail. Any Californian who dies with $150,000 or more worth of assets in their name leave a big mess behind for their loved ones to clean up. And Sheryl would be leaving behind a VERY big mess.

She can ensure her family stays out of Court by putting everything she owns into Trusts. And, ideally, those trusts would have lifetime asset protection provisions built in for her children so they can receive their inheritance fully protected from lawsuits, divorce, creditors and predators. This will also enable Sheryl to determine how, when, and on what her children can spend their inherited money.

That’s something you likely need to consider for your family as well, as everyone who dies with more than $150,000 in assets goes through probate — not just billionaires and millionaires, but everyday regular people too.

Regardless of how much you have in the bank, you don’t want to leave your family with a big mess behind. There is no need to compound a tragedy by not planning well for the people you love. Make sure you protect and provide financial security for your loved ones. We can help.

To your family’s health, wealth, and happiness,
Marc Garlett 91024

/0 Comments/by

10 Things to Consider During an Estate Plan Review

,

Estate Planning 91024

Estate planning is NOT a “set it once and forget it” type of process. Your plan will likely need to be rejuvenated and renewed several times throughout your life. As such, it should be reviewed with a qualified estate planning attorney at least every few years to ensure the documents have not become outdated due to recent changes in the law and that they still support your overall planning goals.

When reviewing your estate plan, keep these ten important points in mind:

  1. Your estate plan only works if your assets are owned properly. If you have acquired new assets or sold assets you had at the time you made your plan, you will need to update your family wealth inventory spreadsheet (and you absolutely should have a family wealth inventory spreadsheet which lists all your assets) and retitle the newly acquired assets.
  2. Be sure your named fiduciaries are still the right people for the job. Your fiduciaries include the agents for your financial and healthcare powers of attorney as well as the executors or trustees of your estate. In addition, confirm all your fiduciaries know what to do if called upon and have access to the documents they would need if something happens to you (we take care of this by sending letters to all of our clients’ fiduciaries to introduce them to their roles and responsibilities and provide them with instructions).
  3. Determine if the terms of your estate plan still meet your objectives, and that the beneficiaries and your bequests are still up to date and relevant. Be sure to look at whether you are leaving assets to your beneficiaries in a lifetime asset protection trust that ensures what you pass on is protected from a future divorce, creditors or lawsuits.
  4. If you have minor children be sure you have a Kids Protection Plan in place naming short- and long-term guardians, providing instructions and guidelines for those guardians and including executed medical powers of attorney that allow you to dictate medical care for your minor children in case they are injured when you are not with them.
  5. Confirm all beneficiary designations for retirement plans, insurance policies and financial accounts are correct. Never name a minor child as the beneficiary (or even contingent beneficiary) of an insurance policy or retirement account.
  6. Be sure your healthcare and end of life decisions are still the right choices for you and that all the proper documents, including HIPAA waivers, have been executed to allow your agent to make health care decisions for you in case of incapacitation. Also, consider adding provisions to your health care directive that provide for HOW you want to be cared for, not just who you want making your decisions.
  7. If you plan to make gifts to individuals, see if you are taking full advantage of the maximum annual exclusion, which is $14,000 in 2015.
  8. If you make large gifts to charity, you may want to consider making split-interest gifts that provide an income tax deduction while preserving an interest in property to heirs.
  9. If you have already used a majority of your federal gift tax exemption, you may want to consider other strategies to move taxable assets out of your estate.
  10. Talk to your estate planning attorney about other estate planning strategies to take advantage of your generation-skipping transfer tax or remaining federal gift tax exemptions.

We review existing estate plans to ensure they meet these 10 criteria. We also perform a 50-point checkup on existing trusts. If you haven’t had a review of your existing estate plan within the last several years, you’re past due. Give us a call so we can help.

To your family’s health, wealth, and happiness,
Marc Garlett 91024

/0 Comments/by

Women, You Rock!

,
  • family estate plan 91024By and large, mothers and housewives are the only workers who do not have regular time off. They are the great vacation-less class.
  • Most women with children will put their children’s needs before their own.
  • Women earn 78% less than men and are at risk of a compromised lifestyle if they and their husband do not plan well for a future in which his income is no longer there.
  • The history of all times and of today especially, teaches that women will be forgotten if they forget to think about themselves. – Louise Otto

Women, you especially, need to know the following about estate planning:

Kids Protection Planning provides parents with important legal tools to name short- and long-term guardians, gives instructions and guidelines for those guardians and executes medical powers of attorney that allow you to dictate medical care for your minor children in case they are injured and you are not with them.

A will and a living trust are both essential estate planning tools, and although both can be used to transfer assets upon death, they serve separate purposes. A living trust takes effect when you become incapacitated or after death. It allows you to hold assets for your benefit during your life and transfer those assets, without the need for probate, after your death. A will only takes effect upon death and is used to cover assets that do not need to go through probate.

Women need to execute financial and healthcare durable powers of attorney so a trusted friend or family member can make financial and/or medical decisions on your behalf in case of incapacity. And, if you are married or partnered, make sure your spouse or partner does the same so you can handle their financial and medical affairs if something happens to them.

Make sure your partner/spouse has life insurance to support you and your children for as long as you will need support in the event of their death. Women often don’t have their own life insurance if they don’t bring in an income. This is a mistake. Think about the cost of finding someone to handle your responsibilities if you aren’t able to take care of them yourself and secure enough life insurance to cover those costs.

Keep beneficiary forms for retirement accounts (IRAs, 401(k)s, etc. ) up to date, as they determine who receives the assets of each one of your accounts.

We men don’t like to think about leaving you to pick up the pieces if something happens to us even though statistically you’re likely to outlive us. We love and appreciate you and want things to be as easy as possible for you. Your well-being and financial security is our priority. But hey, we’re guys. Sometimes we need to be prodded just a bit. Right? Take care of yourself and don’t be afraid to prod. We’ll come around. I promise.

To you family’s health, wealth, and happiness,
Marc Garlett 91024

/0 Comments/by

Trusts Are Great, But …

,

Estate Planning, 91024I talk a LOT about living trusts. They are one of the most powerful and versatile legal tools available. Trusts enable us to avoid taxes, probate court, legal battles, and if set up correctly they can also shield our family from creditors, lawsuits, and even future potential ex-spouses – and it’s all perfectly legal.

What’s not to love about trusts? But even though they are such an important aspect of fully protecting and providing for your family, they are not the only important legal tool you should be utilizing. There are several separate, and complimentary, devices you absolutely MUST have in place. These include:

Advance Medical Directive — this document details your wishes about your medical care in case of incapacity, as well as names a person to make health care decisions on your behalf and spells out who can be given access to your medical records. This should protect your family from having to go to court in order to make medical decisions for you and saves them the cost in time, energy, and money of a guardianship application, which can run into several thousands of dollars.

Financial Power of Attorney – this documents names the person who will be given the power to act as your agent and handle your financial affairs in case you are no longer able to do so yourself. A financial power of attorney will save your family the cost of having to go to court to get access to your financial accounts and to pay your bills if you are not able to do it yourself. This unnecessary court process could cost your family $10,000 or more. Plus, we are hearing reports of adult children applying for financial conservatorship of their parents, not being able to qualify, and having to sit by and watch their parents’ assets dwindle to nothing when a professional conservator is appointed.

Last Will and Testament – this document won’t keep your family out of probate court like a trust does, but it can provide guidance to the judge as to how you want your assets distributed. Without a trust or a will in place, a judge will determine who gets what. This often causes personal heartache and family feuds. If you have more than $150,000 in assets, you really should be considering a trust. But even if you have less than that amount you still need a will to spare your family from having a stranger divvy up and distribute your assets.

Kids Protection Plan – this is a set of documents parents of minor children must have in place to ensure their children are never placed in the custody and care of strangers. Thankfully, most of our children will never have to worry about legal guardianship issues. But the sad truth is that thousands of children are orphaned each year in just this country alone. As parents, if we don’t choose – and legally document – who we would want to raise our children if we cannot, we lose the right to make that decision. A judge, who doesn’t know us or love our children, will make that critical, life-altering choice instead. A Kids Protection Plan keeps that decision in the hands of parents, no matter what.

So while trusts are a key element in protecting families like yours, they are not the only tool available. You really should be taking full advantage of all available legal instruments to ensure there are no holes or gaps for your family.
Marc Garlett 91024

/0 Comments/by

“To know and not to act is not to know” -Chinese proverb

,

Legacy Planning 91024When people learn what I do for a living they often tell me, “I know I need to get an estate plan in place for my family.” When I hear that, I get excited. I talk to them about why planning is so important, just how easy it really can be, and all the cool things they can do to truly protect and provide for their family and pass on a lasting legacy.

I make myself available to guide them, answer their questions, and help them in any way I can – even if they don’t do their planning with me. I’m just thrilled to be a small part of their journey toward greater consciousness. Some, then, begin the planning process. Many, however, never follow through.

So even though they’ve said they “know,” I can only assume they don’t really get it. They must not understand the consequences for their loved ones if they fail to plan. They must not grasp the immense peace of mind and satisfaction a good plan will bring into their lives. They must not appreciate the fact it is not too late for them to plan now but that one day, it will be.

If you’ve already handled your planning, congratulations. You’re in the know. If you haven’t yet begun your planning, are you ready to make the shift between just saying you know and really, consciously, actively knowing? If so, then here’s what you need to know:

Will. If you’re an adult and you don’t have a will, if and when something happens to you, a judge decides who is in charge of your affairs and state law determines who receives everything you own. You lose all control. With a will, on the other hand, YOU appoint who’s in charge of things and YOU choose who gets your stuff.

Advance Medical Directive. Also known as a health care proxy, medical power of attorney, or living will, this document allows the person of your choosing to make healthcare decisions for you in case you become incapacitated and unable to make them for yourself. Plus, it also lets that person know HOW you want decisions to be made if you cannot make them for yourself. Without an Advance Medical Directive in place, your family could have their hands tied when it comes to ensuring you get the best care possible, in the way you would want.

Power of Attorney. In the event you cannot communicate, a power of attorney will allow your designated agent to quickly gain access to your financial accounts so they can pay your bills and manage your financial affairs. Without this in place, your family will face an expensive, long and public court process while your credit gets ruined.

Living Trust. If you own any property that would go through the probate process (a home, bank accounts, brokerage accounts, business assets, real estate investments, and other substantial assets), you’ll want to make sure to have a Trust set up as soon as possible so your family isn’t stuck dealing with an expensive, unnecessary, long, and totally public probate process in the event of your death. A revocable living trust puts the people you know, love and trust in control without even having to go to Court.

Kids Protection Plan. If you have minor children, you need a comprehensive set of documents to ensure they are taken care of by the people you want, in the way you want, no matter what. Not just for the long-term, but also in the immediate term if something happens to you. Without this in place, strangers could gain temporary custody of your children and it would definitely be a stranger (a judge) who would determine who raises your children.

If you know you want to make things as easy for your family as possible then let’s do something about it. Call my office today to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk. Mention this article and there will be no charge for meeting with me. So don’t just say you know. Take action.

To you family’s health, wealth, and happiness,
Marc Garlett 91024

/0 Comments/by

Our Office

Phone

(626) 355-4000

Address

100 West Lemon Avenue, Suite 202
Monrovia, California 91016

Cali Law Office California

Schedule a Complimentary Consultation

Simply Fill Out This Form

3 + 2 = ?