I have two clients coming in this afternoon… hopefully I might add… to sign their estate plans. In both instances it has been over a year since we first met. Life is busy we all know but, in the end, there is no good excuse for not getting your estate plan done.

In both cases there are revocable trusts, wills, powers of attorney for financial affairs, health care directives, Hippa releases, general transfers, certified extracts and deeds to real estate. The one case also has an irrevocable life insurance trust in it. The bottom line is these are very important legal documents that are needed.

In some cases the above documents are needed to avoid estate taxes and in all cases they are needed to avoid probate Court. You can not avoid probate Court after death so sign your documents before death!

My theory is your estate plan may not be 100% perfect for you today as you might still be debating about certain issues but it’s 100% better than having no signed documents!  Get it done and then amend it as you think of changes to make. I do not charge for changes during the first year after signing.

Call or email me with questions regarding your estate plan.  Or visit our webpage for more information at www.californiaprobate.info

-John