Estate Plan Lawyer in California

Start Your Estate Planning Today

Michelle Lerman, one of the partners in Lerman Law Partners, is frequently asked to speak about estate planning. You may have heard her on the radio as well.

To put together a solid estate plan is to provide for the future of your loved ones. Without it, the government dictates how your property is distributed and the courts may pick a guardian for your children.

Attorney Michelle Lerman has created the following checklist to help you get ready for your first meeting. Contact Lerman Law Partners to set one up.

• Do we need a living trust so that our estate avoids probate?
• Do we have a Bypass Trust or QTIP trust in our living trust so that estate taxes are minimized and our children are protected?
• Does our living trust or will create a trust for our children if something happens to both of us?
• Do we need a life insurance trust so that our family (not the IRS) receives the proceeds?
• Is the amount and type of life insurance we have adequate for our family's needs?
• Do we have a buy-sell agreement for our business so our family will not suffer a financial hardship?
• Are all of our assets (house, bank accounts, partnership interests and personal property) in our living trust?
• If we owned any property as "joint tenants," did we consider changing the ownership to "community property with right of survivorship" as allowed by new legislation?
• Who is the beneficiary of our retirement plans (spouse, a charity or the living trust)?
• Does our estate plan fulfill our charitable goals?
• Have we reviewed our estate plan within the last 2 years?
• Have we put our estate planning documents in a safe place (a safe deposit box or fireproof safe)?

Not having an estate plan through a will or trust increases the likelihood of family member disputes leading to anger, resentment and bitterness. Meeting with a qualified estate planning lawyer will provide you with lasting peace of mind. We can help with:

• Wills
• Trusts
• Living trusts
• Probate
• Unified credit, an estate and gift-tax credit
• Conservatorship
• Asset protection trusts
• Irrevocable trusts

To help you get started right away with your Estate Plan, here are two forms that everybody should have:

California Statutory Will

Health Care Directive

Plan your estate. Contact us today. We have offices throughout California in San Rafael, San Francisco, Santa Clara and Los Angeles.

AV® Preeminent™ (4.5-5.0) - An AV® certification mark is a significant rating accomplishment - a testament to the fact that a lawyer's peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence. *

Michelle C. Lerman has been selected for inclusion in 2009 and 2010 Super Lawyers. Only 5% of the lawyers in the state were so selected.

* CV, BV, and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards, and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell ratings fall into two categories - legal ability and general ethical standards.