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Learn More About Estate Planning

 Estate Planning

The estate plan we create for you and the people you love will protect your hard-won assets. Use the tax laws to utmost advantage so you pay minimal, if any, tax. Ensure your children’s inheritance. Enable you to pass on your values, goals and work ethic. In short, protect you, your family and your legacy. And even if you already have a plan, chances are we can make it significantly better. After all, an outdated or inadequate plan is often worse than no plan at all.

It is important to remember that if you don’t have an estate plan, the state of California and the IRS will create one for you. Of course, their plan will not focus on minimizing taxes or looking out for the best interests of your heirs. This is why having your own estate plan, created by an attorney who specializes in planning and wealth preservation, is so very important.

Here are just some of the estate planning services we provide:

  • Traditional estate planning, including wills, revocable trusts, powers of attorney, health care directives
  • Advanced estate planning, including dynasty trusts, irrevocable trusts, family limited partnerships, qualified personal residence trusts, gift programs, minors’ trusts, generation-skipping trusts, tax planning
  • Business succession planning
  • Charitable planning, including private foundations and charitable trusts
  • Conservatorships
  • Medi-Cal eligibility
  • Special needs planning
  • Probate and trust administration

The worst mistakes you can make in estate planning.

Even if you haven’t created a will, you do in fact have one. How is this possible? Because California, and every other state, has laws determining how the value of your house, bank accounts, furniture and other possessions will be distributed if you die without a document specifying your wishes. And your loved ones will suffer the painful financial consequences. Not to mention charities and any other institutions you would like to assist. Fortunately, you can ensure this doesn’t happen by avoiding the following estate planning mistakes.

Procrastinating. Recent surveys show that more than 40% of Americans over 45 have not created a will, and if you look at all the adults in America, the number rises to 57%. Why? At the Burstein Law firm, the explanation we hear most often is this: “If I make a will, I'll die.” Of course, if you don't make a will, you will also die, but your estate may be in complete disarray.

The fact is, you need a plan that dictates where your property will go. A will, trusts, insurance policies, naming beneficiaries: these are just some of the ways you can protect your assets and control how they will be distributed. The time to do it is now, because you can’t predict when you will die or if you will become disabled.

Titling property incorrectly. Some people who try to do their own estate plans often add children or other beneficiaries to bank accounts, investment accounts, real estate deeds and other property to try and avoid probate or plan for disability. However, this can create a number of serious problems. For instance, the added person may have creditors who can then access the property to satisfy debts; or the added person can get divorced, allowing the former spouse to claim part of the property; certain tax benefits may be eliminated unnecessarily, creating capital gains taxes, and other tax liabilities may be triggered (such as gift taxes).

Failing to keep beneficiary forms up to date. Unfortunately, many people never look at the forms that designate who receives the money for IRAs, life insurance policies and other important documents after sending them to the institutions where the accounts were set up. So, for instance, if you get divorced and remarried, but don’t take your ex-wife’s/husband’s name off the IRA beneficiary form, your former spouse and not your widow stands to inherit the money.

Life insurance. Life insurance proceeds are generally included in your estate, which can mean that for many estates 45% of your insurance proceeds will go to the IRS. Most people don’t realize this. A fairly simple trust, called an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust, can prevent it from happening.

Failing to use the federal estate exemption twice. If you are married, both you and your spouse are each entitled to an estate exemption. However, if you die and leave your entire estate to your surviving spouse, you will lose your personal exemption, in effect reducing the overall exemption by half. By creating a joint living trust and putting all or some of your estate into it, you can avoid this costly mistake, and for some couples, save your estate hundreds of thousands of dollars or more.

Failing to plan for disability. The costs of nursing home care average $6,000 per month in California in 2007 and are climbing ever higher. If you or your spouse suffers a debilitating stroke or other severe illness, paying for this care can be a financial catastrophe. And who will manage your finances if you are incapacitated? An effective estate plan can offer solutions to these situations, which are becoming more and more common today with advances in medical care and people living longer than ever before.

Letting your estate end up in probate court. Probate proceedings can go on for months, even years, and consume up to 5% or more your estate’s value. The probate process is also very stressful on surviving loved ones who are grieving your loss. We can show you ways to avoid probate, or lead your heirs through the difficult process with skill and compassion.

Failing to keep your plan updated. An outdated or inadequate plan can be as bad or even worse than having no plan at all. Your estate plan should be reviewed, at the very least, every two years. After all, life is full of changes: your needs and goals change; your financial situation changes; children grow older and no longer need conservators or trustees; they have children of their own; they get divorced or develop personal problems. Updating your plan allows you to take these changes into account.

All of which brings us to the next big planning mistake, perhaps the biggest one of all.

Failing to hire the right attorney. Beyond protecting yourself against potential problems like those mentioned above, it is critical to choose an attorney who is not only highly experienced and competent, but one you feel comfortable with. You’re not just paying for technical expertise, you’re paying for counsel. This means your attorney must be someone you like, someone you can confide in, someone who will take the time to get to know you and your unique goals and concerns.