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Home » Estate Planning » What Is Estate Planning?

What Is Estate Planning?

June 12, 2014Estate Planning, General, Incapacity Planning, Probate, Taxes

Estate planning involves preparing yourself and your family for the possibility of incapacity and the inevitability of death.  Different estate planning tools can be used to create a plan depending on which type of plan you need.  You can certainly prepare for both by creating a comprehensive plan.

Planning for the future is very important. For one thing, planning ahead will allow you to ensure that your property is inherited by the people you choose, while reducing the amount of estate taxes that will be assessed after your death.  It is also wise to plan for the unfortunate event that you become incapacitated, either temporarily or permanently.  In doing so, you can provide protection for you and your family if you are unable to make decisions for yourself.

Planning for Your Death

A two part estate plan is best, in order to provide for the payment of your debts and designate who will receive the remainder of your property.  A Will is the most basic estate planning tool.  Wills allow you to leave written instructions describing how you want your estate to be managed when you pass away.  The only down side to a will is that it will require your estate to pass through the probate process, a lengthy and expensive court proceeding, before your assets will be distributed.

Planning for Mental Incapacity

There are different life situations that can lead to incapacity, including medical and mental health conditions.  Some incapacity is only temporary.  Planning for mental incapacity requires a two-part plan, as well.  One part of the plan must consider the personal decisions that need to be made and the other part must deal with necessary financial decisions. If you become incapacitated, and you do not have a plan, a court-supervised guardianship or conservatorship may be appointed to take care of you.  At that point, you will no longer have control.

Advance Medical Directive

An Advance Medical Directive, also known as a Medical Power of Attorney in some states, allows you to delegate medical decisions to someone you trust in the event that you are either temporarily or permanently incapable of making those decisions yourself.  You can choose that person now, while you still have the capacity to do so.

Financial Power of Attorney

A power of attorney can be executed solely for the purpose of allowing a chosen agent to make financial decision on your behalf.  That way, you can choose someone you trust to manage your affairs if you become incapacitated in the future.  A “durable” power of attorney allows your chosen agent to immediately care for your financial affairs and continued to have that power in the event you become mentally incapacitated.

Revocable Living Trust

A Revocable Living Trust can be used to plan for both mental disabilities and death.  Both sets of provisions can actually be included in the same document.  A revocable living trust allows you to control your assets while you are still alive, and then designate someone to manage your finances and your personal welfare if you ever become incapacitated.  You can also provide instructions for your family regarding how your assets should be handled and distributed after your death.

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Scott Schomer, Estate Planning Attorney
Scott Schomer, Estate Planning Attorney
A graduate of Boston University School of Law, Scott P. Schomer is a frequent lecturer on estate planning and elder law issues, having discussed these important issues on local and national television. A seasoned courtroom advocate, Scott has obtained combined judgments and verdicts in excess of twenty-five million dollars for his clients. Scott has served as a member of the Los Angeles Superior Court Probate Volunteer Panel (PVP Attorney), Probate Settlement Panel and a Judge Pro Tempore. Scott's expertise has been recognized by his peers with such accolades as a life-time membership in the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, the Five Star Wealth Manager designation, and repeated nominations as California Super Lawyer.
Scott Schomer, Estate Planning Attorney
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We need to update our Living Trust and attended Schomer Law Group’s seminar. Afterwards we made an appointment and were impressed by the attention Scott Schomer and Liran Aliav gave to our case answering all questions and making suggestions how to minimize the estate tax. All the office staff is very friendly and we highly recommend Schomer Law Group.

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We put off getting a trust for years. After attending a seminar with Scott Schomer we realized that the time had come to get a trust. We were given very good reasons for why we should get a trust. No pressure, just the plain facts. We are very relieved and happy to finally get our trust. Scott and Cesar were very knowledgeable, helpful and listened to our ideas of what we had to say. Any questions that we have now and in the future they are available to assist us to solve them. I recommend the Schomer Law Group and I wish we knew about them years ago.

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When you’re presented with an invitation to attend in a mailer, you may have reservations, this was a truly gift!! My wife and I were educated and guided through the process of creating a family trust.
Both of our parents had attorney’s that “worked” with wills/trusts, but came up short. Fortunately, the Schomer Law Group was there! This is a group of attorney’s that only specialize in estate planning, law, and financial advice, so you know you’re getting expert and personalized advice. This is the best money we’ve ever spent!! Thank you!

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We knew we had to update our 10 year old ( 20 page ) trust. After several detailed meetings, Liran and Cesar produced a large ( 300 pages + ) highly detailed trust document that we have used to make sure our family estate is well managed and clearly understood.
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We would strongly recommend the Schomer Law Group to anyone with an estate of even modest means, to assure proper planning…

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We had contemplated updating our will and starting a trust for a number of years. After attending a talk by Scott Schomer we realized we were long overdue and the potential downside of not having our affairs in order was significant. Scott and his excellent team made the process simple and seamless. They were great listeners, addressed all our concerns and even pulled and processed all the paperwork from our financial institutions. If you are looking for assistance with estate planning, wills and trusts, we highly recommend Schomer Law Group.

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Mr. Schomer was excellent in getting our family trust and estate affairs in order. My husband and I had put off doing this and Scott really made the process easy! He is very passionate in making sure his clients get all that they need and we really appreciated it. I would highly recommend him and look forward to the many years he will be available to assist our family.

Kim

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