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December 2013

Estate Planning 101: What does a typical estate plan include?

Estate Planning FAQ: What an Estate Plan from the Law Offices of Jack B. Friedell Includes.

Brought to you by the Law Offices of Jack B. Friedell.

Not all estate plans are equal. A typical California estate plan drafted by the Law Offices of Jack B. Friedell will include:

Living Trust
Last Will and Testament (pour over will)
Durable Power of Attorney
Advance Healthcare Directive
Assignment of Personal Property
Certificate of Trust
Declaration of Trust
Quitclaim Deed
Estate Organizer

A living trust in California will help keep your assets with your beneficiaries and away from the probate court.

A Will, also known as a pour over will, lets everyone know that you intend for all your assets to pour into your living trust.

A power of attorney will allow your agent to manage your financial affairs if you become incapacitated. Most importantly, it will allow your spouse to continue to make gifts or to move assets around to ensure that you qualify for medicare or Medi-Cal.

Your advance health care directive, or living will, takes care of your end of life decisions so those you love do not have to make the hard end of life decisions for you.

An assignment of personal property lets the world know that you intend for all your non-titled assets to flow into your trust.

A declaration of trust declares to the world that you intend that all your assets are to be trust assets. This is a great tool to protect your estate from a potential probate and bring property or assets into your trust that were left out during your life.

A quitclaim deed is simply a form that your estate planning attorney fills out on your behalf to place any real property into your trust.

Finally, an estate plan organizer keeps all your pertinent files together so that your trustee can locate everyone and everything necessary to properly administer your estate. Plus, funding instructions are included to make sure all your assets are properly titled and place into your trust.

For questions on the above content or for any other legal advice dealing with estate planning in California, a California estate planning lawyer can help. Please contact the Law Offices of Jack B. Friedell today.

The authors, publisher and host are not providing legal, accounting, or specific advice to your situation.