Revocable Living Trust: A living trust is usually the best way to avoid the time and expense of a probate of your assets at your death. The trust essentially acts in place of a Will to make sure that your property passes to your beneficiaries with a minimum of hassle and expense.

It is extremely important that all assets which are to be included in your trust (i.e., real property, savings accounts, stocks and bonds, etc.) are actually titled in the name of the trust. We will instruct you as to how to accomplish this.

Another important advantage of the living trust is that it allows your designated successor Trustee to promptly take over the management of your affairs if you should become unable to manage your affairs due to illness, accident, Alzheimer's, etc. This avoids the potentially embarrassing, expensive and lengthy court process of a conservatorship.

In view of the 2001 Tax Relief Act, the future of the federal estate tax is uncertain. We design the living trust to provide opportunities for minimizing or possibly eliminating any federal estate taxes that might be otherwise imposed upon your death.

Other documents in the estate planning package include:
Certificate of Trust: The Certificate sets forth the existence of the trust and your unlimited right as Trustee to deal with any account or asset held in the trust. The Certificate acts as a short version of the trust Agreement and gives any third party all the information required from the trust without getting into the dispositive provisions, which are (and should remain) confidential.

Will: The Will is commonly referred to as a "pour-over" will. Under the terms of the Will, any assets held by you which have not previously been transferred into your trust will be added to the trust at the time of your death (but may have to be subject to a probate administration in order to do so). The purpose of this is to make sure all of your assets (whether in your trust or not) are distributed according to the dispositive plan set forth in the trust.

Durable Power of Attorney for Management of Property and Personal Affairs: The Durable Power of Attorney is a "general power of attorney". This document is primarily intended to give your named agent the power to deal with any trust or non-trust assets in the event of your incapacity. However, this document gives your agent broad powers to dispose of, sell, convey and encumber your real and personal property.

Advance Health Care Directive: The Advance Health Care Directive gives your named agents the power to make medical decisions, sign consents and/or releases with hospitals and/or doctors. It conforms to the new Federal Laws (known as "HIPAA") with regard to the releases. It also acts as your "living will" for end-of-life decisions.

Other Documents: We typically prepare and record a deed of your real property, for example your home, to the trust. We also prepare documents for assigning other assets to the trust, burial instructions, a memorandum directing how specific heirlooms or other tangible personal property should be distributed, and various other documents as needed in specific cases.