Estate Planning 101
Taking care of your money and family is essential, and one of the most important ways you can protect your loved ones and achieve financial security is to create a comprehensive estate plan.
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For more than a decade, Ballesteros Law has been providing estate planning services to clients in the Bay Area. Our legal team is dedicated to helping people of all ages, with all different types of family and financial situations, to make smart choices for their futures. Contact us today to find out how we can guide you through the creation a comprehensive estate plan and to learn answers to questions you may have.
Learn about the Key Components in 3 minutes
Why is a Comprehensive Estate Plan Important?
There are many misconceptions about what an estate plan is and who needs to create a comprehensive estate plan. You may believe that estate planning isn’t an issue that is important to you if you don’t have a vast fortune to hand down to your children. The truth, however, is that a comprehensive estate plan created with the help of an experienced attorney can help you to plan ahead for the realities of the aging process. Getting older is a fact of life, and everyone passes away eventually. Many people also face illness and incapacity along the way.
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An estate plan is about making sure you are prepared and ready no matter what life throws at you. Creating a plan allows you to:
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Determine who is entrusted to make your decisions if you can’t. Who will manage your financial affairs or decide what medical treatments you get in an emergency? An estate plan helps you to establish the answers to these questions so your family doesn’t have to grapple with the issue when you are sick or injured.
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Dictate quality of life issues. Do you want to be kept alive on a ventilator? What kinds of emergency medical care do you want and under what circumstances? If you don’t answer these questions in an estate plan, you’ll leave these tough issues up to loved ones at a terrible time- and you may end up being kept alive by artificial means you aren’t comfortable with.
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Provide for your children and pets. Who will take care of them if you aren’t around? How will your financial assets be managed for their benefit? An estate plan can address these issues.
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Plan for long-term care. Nursing homes may cost more than $100,000 per year. A plan for how to pay for this care can protect assets you have worked your whole life for.
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Determine who will inherit. You want to make sure that you specify where your assets will go so there is no fighting after your death.
Key Estate Planning Documents
Ballesteros Law offers a wide array of estate planning services including assisting clients with:
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Wills and trusts
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Power of attorney
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Living wills
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Business succession planning
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Retirement planning
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Incapacity planning
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Our firm also provides representation during the probate process. This means if your family member has passed away and/or if you have been named as the executor of an estate, our legal team is here to help you make sure the wishes of the deceased are respected and the heirs receive their inheritance in a timely manner.
How Can Ballesteros Law Help?
Estate planning is something everyone should do to protect their finances and care for their family. We know that thinking about illness, injury, and death is never fun- but we make the process positive and stress free by offering you effective solutions designed with your needs in mind. To learn more about how we can help you with your estate plan, contact our team today.
