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Estate Planning Services in Temecula

FAQ

Estate planning involves preparing documents and making arrangements to manage your assets and affairs in the event of your death or incapacitation. It ensures that your wishes are followed, reduces the potential for family disputes, and can minimize taxes and legal costs

An estate plan often includes a will, trusts, power of attorney, healthcare directives, and beneficiary designations. Each document serves a specific purpose in managing your assets and personal affairs.

Everyone can benefit from an estate plan, regardless of age or wealth. If you have assets, dependents, or specific wishes for your healthcare and legacy, an estate plan is essential.

You should review and update your estate plan every few years or whenever significant life events occur, such as marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, or changes in financial status. Family Legacy Planning Firm clients receive a no-cost plan review every three years. If it’s been a while since someone has gone through your plan, contact us today to ask about our comprehensive plan reviews.

Legacy Planning means planning for how you want to be remembered after you’re gone. It can involve many components, such as charitable giving, writing legacy letters, careful distribution of heirlooms, and passing on family stories. We include Legacy Planning in our Estate Planning packages by incorporating your family’s values into your legal documents, as well as recording a Priceless Conversations interview in which you share, on video, your most impactful memories for your loved ones to see.

Yes, you can and should update your estate plan as your circumstances change. You can make changes at any time, as long as you are alive and have the mental capacity to do so. Regular reviews ensure that your estate plan continues to reflect your current wishes and situation.

A trust is a legal way to manage your property without involving the court. You retain control during your lifetime, and then another trustee holds and manages assets for beneficiaries, avoiding probate court costs and delays. A trust takes effect during your lifetime and can last as long or as short as intended after your passing. It offers privacy for your estate and beneficiaries. For those reasons, the vast majority of our clients opt for a trust-based plan.

By using tools such as living trusts, joint ownership, and beneficiary designations, you can transfer assets directly to beneficiaries, bypassing the probate process and reducing legal costs and delays.

To start creating an estate plan, schedule a consultation with Matrona Jessica Ward at Family Legacy Planning Firm. She will help you assess your needs, explain your options, and guide you through the process of drafting and finalizing your documents.

Adding your adult children as joint owners of your assets can avoid probate upon your death, but it can also open up other headaches. As legal owners of the property, their creditors could go after the asset that you consider to be yours. And although nobody ever expects it to happen, there have been many cases of adult children draining accounts or disregarding the parent’s wishes for the property. For this reason, we typically recommend giving them access as a Trustee or Power of Attorney through a well-designed estate plan, instead of co-owning the property.

Proper planning saves your family multiple times what it costs! The investment for a comprehensive package including all necessary documents varies based on what you need. The range at our firm is currently from $2500 to $7500, with most clients’ needs falling somewhere in the middle. However, the exact cost will depend on the unique needs of your situation. Our team will work with you to outline the services you require and provide options based on your needs. Furthermore, our estate plan prices are based on a flat fee basis that is agreed upon in advance. This ensures that there are no surprise costs or unexpected expenses down the road. We believe in complete transparency when it comes to pricing, so you can trust that the costs we quote you are fair and accurate.
We have a three-step process for setting up your estate plan. First, we’ll review your assets and family situation in a Family Legacy Planning Session, and design the elements of your plan. Next, we confirm your choices, draft the plan, and have your attorney and notary go through the documents with you to get each one signed. Finally, we present you the finished binder and conduct your Priceless Conversations Interview.
Upon your death, the successor trustee you chose will manage and distribute the trust assets to your beneficiaries according to your instructions, without the need for probate court involvement.
Although it’s possible to create your estate plan without a lawyer, we don’t recommend it. We have reviewed countless plans created by paralegals and insurance agents, DIY’ed online, or even handwritten. They are often fill-in-the-blank form documents that don’t account for scenarios our clients will likely face in their particular family or with their specific assets. Most people who do it this way are attempting to save money, but unfortunately, it can cost far more in the long run to have a plan that’s not expertly tailored to your situation.
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