Walnut Creek Attorney Handling Estate Plan Reviews

Experienced Lawyer Guiding Mountain View & Bay Area Clients through the Estate Planning Process

You may have heard that you should review or update your estate plan at least every five years. However, in the last few years, there have been extensive changes in federal tax laws which may require updating your old trust or other aspects of your estate plan more immediately.

Our Walnut Creek estate plan reviews attorney, Dan DuRee, can conduct a complete review of your current estate plan to ensure that it is appropriate for the current laws and congruent with your wishes and situation.

Call The Law Offices of Daniel L. DuRee today at (855) 963-0987 or contact us online. Our firm serves clients across Mountain View and the Bay Area, and we now offer remote estate planning services.

Here are five estate planning issues to consider when reviewing your estate plan:

Do You Have a Revocable Trust?

A revocable living trust is crucial to avoiding the legal procedure equivalent of water boarding that is the California probate process. Make sure that all of your assets are currently held in the name of the trust.

Is Your Trust an A-B Trust?

Due to different tax laws, many trusts created before 2012 are A-B trusts which cause part of the trust to become irrevocable when the first spouse passes away. This is not ideal and should be amended so that the trust simply continues as one trust if a spouse passes away.

Do You Have a Will Nominating Guardians for Minor Children?

It is vitally important to ensure that your children are raised by people (or a person) you choose.

Is Your Advance Healthcare Directive Current?

In our opinion, a properly executed advance healthcare directive is even more important that a trust. Put your health and personal care wishes in a valid legal document to ensure that they are carried out.

Did You Create a Durable Power of Attorney for Financial Management?

More than 75 percent of people that pass away do not have the legal capacity to make decisions at the time of their death. Make sure to appoint an agent to make financial, tax, and benefit decisions on your behalf.

Are Your Beneficiary Designation Forms Current?

Retirement accounts, pensions, life insurance policies, and annuities are passed to others through a beneficiary designation form. Make sure that they reflect your current wishes. It is possible to designate a trust as a beneficiary so that the assets will be distributed according to the trust distribution scheme.

Call the Law Offices of Daniel L. DuRee today at (855) 963-0987 or contact us online to set up a free initial consultation with our estate plan review lawyer in Walnut Creek.