California Wills and Trusts Lawyer
Thinking about how your assets will be divided after your death can be overwhelming. Many people spend their entire lives building their estates and providing for their loved ones, and they have specific wishes about how they want those matters handled after their deaths. Working with an experienced estate planning attorney can help ensure your wishes are clearly delineated and followed after your death. A comprehensive estate plan can also be used to dictate end-of-life medical decisions.
When you work with an attorney, making those decisions does not need to be overwhelming. Clients who contact my firm — Law Offices of David S. Secrest, A Professional Corporation — feel comfortable knowing they have a plan for the disposition of their assets. I represent clients in Santa Barbara and throughout the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, and I have been helping clients achieve their legal goals for more than 20 years.
Do I Need an Estate Plan?
When a person dies, their assets must be transferred out of their name and distributed among their heirs and beneficiaries. Without an estate plan, the government decides how everything will be divided. Your assets may go to relatives with whom you are no longer in contact, or you could lose significant assets through needless taxation. I help clients create estate plans that outline their wishes for all their assets and explain how they would like end-of-life matters handled. A comprehensive estate plan may include a variety of documents, including:
- Wills
- Trusts
- Living wills
- Powers of attorney
- Health care directives
- Revocable or irrevocable trusts
Probate is the process by which the court supervises the distribution of an estate. I work with clients to help ensure their estate plan is followed during probate. In addition, if family members of beneficiaries disagree about the will, I can handle the will contest.
Having an experienced third party involved throughout the estate planning and probate process can be beneficial for numerous reasons. A San Francisco estate planning attorney may have insight regarding actions to be taken at any step of the process and can help ensure each party's rights are respected. Contact me online or call 650-276-0702 to schedule your free initial consultation.
