If you have not yet properly planned your estate, more likely than not your home and most of your assets are going to be subject to avoidable taxes and legal fees when you pass on. Even if you did set up your estate the right way, but time has passed or things have changed, your beneficiaries may still not receive all or any of what you had intended to be given to them.
If you have not yet created an estate plan
If you own a home or have more than $100,000 in assets, there is much to be lost. Not just for your heirs, but for you as well. In the event of an extended hospital or nursing home stay, the nursing home and government will likely give you incomplete information and misinformation about your duty to “spend down” your liquid assets to qualify for the Long Term Care (Medi-Cal) insurance you have already paid for. Many people have, in effect, squandered their life savings and their property in this way, only to regain enough of their health to return to living on their own and having nothing to come back to, their home and assets gone! But it doesn’t have to be this way. With the proper strategy, you can protect yourself from such misfortune.
If your estate plan is five or more years old
Tax laws have changed. If there’s been a divorce in your family, or if someone in your existing estate has passed on or just left the area, you may need to update your plan. Also, are the addresses and phone numbers of your trustees listed in your trust still correct, or has someone moved?
In either case, we are here to help you.