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We are experienced estate planning lawyers who are dedicated to serve your needs. If you have any of the concerns below, please pick up the phone and call us 1-(866) 588-9988/email our attorney Yong Li, MD, JD at Yong@MDLawFirms.com.
Q: I just need a simple Will.
Imagine you write a Will at 78 years old which reads "All my money goes to my children". Later you pass away at 96 years old in your bathroom (unfortunately). In your hand, there is a piece of toilet paper and it reads "All my money goes to my neighbor". What do you think where your money would eventually go, to your children or to your neighbor? Think about the scary stories of elder abuse. There is no way for us to ask you about the circumstances at which time you wrote the toilet-paper Will (because you are already dead). You might write the toilet-paper Will under duress (the neighbor pointed a gun against your head) or you simply suffered from Alzheimer's disease so that you had no idea what you were doing.
Imagine after you pass away your children show up at the bank to get your bank money. What do you think the bank would do? The bank can't just give the money to your children because it is quite possible that there might be somebody else (the neighbor) shows up the next day with a "toilet-paper Will", directing the bank to give money to him!
A Will alone is not enough because you can never prove the Will in your children's hand is the last one.
A trust is effective during your lifetime and your Will is read by the judge only after you are dead.
Q: OK, I need more than a simple Will. Wait, why do I need a trust?
Ans:
In California, after someone passes away, the default legal procedure is to go through a process called “Probate”, even with a valid will in place. This process is both time consuming and money consuming.
The legal fee to go through this process is written in California law. The amount of fee is 4% percent of the first $100,000 of the estate, 3% percent of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, 1% of the next $9,000,000, and 0.5% of the next $15,000,000. By simple calculation, the fee is roughly $23,000 for the first 1 Million dollars you own at the time of your death.
The calculation will be based on the “fair market value” of your assets. If you own a $1 Million house and you only put $250,000 equity into it (down payment and later monthly payments), the probate fee will be calculated based on $1 Million, not $250,000. Even technically the $750,000 is borrowed from the bank.
There are other fees/cost as well, such as the court's fee, publication cost, the executor's fee, etc.
There are ways to avoid this lengthy and expensive process. We can prepare trust documents for you to totally avoid this “probate” procedure.
Q: Why do I need estate planning? I just need a trust.
Ans:
It is like clockwork.
Imagine a scenario that you need to buy a car to commune to work. Do you just buy the car engine? Can you ride the car engine to work? I guess not. You need a seat, a steering wheel, the clutch, the windows, the air conditioning, the gas tank, etc. to form a "car". We can assemble a comprehensive package for you to make sure the smooth transition of your estate to your loved ones.
Q: I have a child who receives government benefit. Can you help us with that?
Ans:
We can utilize Special Needs Trust in this scenario. It is a very complicated area of law but we can certainly help you in drafting documents in this scenario.
Q: I heard about A/B trust. Do we need one?
Ans:
Most of the time, married couple don’t need A/B trust. However, under certain circumstances, A/B trust can make sure your estate goes to the right people you intend to after you pass away and an A/B trust might be beneficial. It depends on what your future plan is.
Q: I am afraid my children will go to foster care immediately after we pass away in a car accident. How could you help us in this regard?
Q: How about reassessment of my house after I set up a trust? Will my property tax increase because of that?
Q: We are both H-1b visa holders with two minor children and I just heard about $60,000 “death tax exemption”. How does my legal status affect my estate planning process?
Q: I intend to purchase other houses in the future. How do I transfer these houses into my trust in the future?
Q: Will your trust prevent me from being sued in the future?
Q: Do I need to pay tax for my trust?
Q: Do I need a family trust, a husband’s trust, a wife’s trust, a children’s trust, a grandchildren’s trust, a great-grandchildren’s trust all at the same time?
We are experienced estate planning lawyers who are dedicated to serve your needs. If you have any of the concerns below, please pick up the phone and call us 1-(866) 588-9988/email our attorney Yong Li, MD, JD at Yong@MDLawFirms.com.
Q: I just need a simple Will.
Imagine you write a Will at 78 years old which reads "All my money goes to my children". Later you pass away at 96 years old in your bathroom (unfortunately). In your hand, there is a piece of toilet paper and it reads "All my money goes to my neighbor". What do you think where your money would eventually go, to your children or to your neighbor? Think about the scary stories of elder abuse. There is no way for us to ask you about the circumstances at which time you wrote the toilet-paper Will (because you are already dead). You might write the toilet-paper Will under duress (the neighbor pointed a gun against your head) or you simply suffered from Alzheimer's disease so that you had no idea what you were doing.
Imagine after you pass away your children show up at the bank to get your bank money. What do you think the bank would do? The bank can't just give the money to your children because it is quite possible that there might be somebody else (the neighbor) shows up the next day with a "toilet-paper Will", directing the bank to give money to him!
A Will alone is not enough because you can never prove the Will in your children's hand is the last one.
A trust is effective during your lifetime and your Will is read by the judge only after you are dead.
Q: OK, I need more than a simple Will. Wait, why do I need a trust?
Ans:
In California, after someone passes away, the default legal procedure is to go through a process called “Probate”, even with a valid will in place. This process is both time consuming and money consuming.
The legal fee to go through this process is written in California law. The amount of fee is 4% percent of the first $100,000 of the estate, 3% percent of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, 1% of the next $9,000,000, and 0.5% of the next $15,000,000. By simple calculation, the fee is roughly $23,000 for the first 1 Million dollars you own at the time of your death.
The calculation will be based on the “fair market value” of your assets. If you own a $1 Million house and you only put $250,000 equity into it (down payment and later monthly payments), the probate fee will be calculated based on $1 Million, not $250,000. Even technically the $750,000 is borrowed from the bank.
There are other fees/cost as well, such as the court's fee, publication cost, the executor's fee, etc.
There are ways to avoid this lengthy and expensive process. We can prepare trust documents for you to totally avoid this “probate” procedure.
Q: Why do I need estate planning? I just need a trust.
Ans:
It is like clockwork.
Imagine a scenario that you need to buy a car to commune to work. Do you just buy the car engine? Can you ride the car engine to work? I guess not. You need a seat, a steering wheel, the clutch, the windows, the air conditioning, the gas tank, etc. to form a "car". We can assemble a comprehensive package for you to make sure the smooth transition of your estate to your loved ones.
Q: I have a child who receives government benefit. Can you help us with that?
Ans:
We can utilize Special Needs Trust in this scenario. It is a very complicated area of law but we can certainly help you in drafting documents in this scenario.
Q: I heard about A/B trust. Do we need one?
Ans:
Most of the time, married couple don’t need A/B trust. However, under certain circumstances, A/B trust can make sure your estate goes to the right people you intend to after you pass away and an A/B trust might be beneficial. It depends on what your future plan is.
Q: I am afraid my children will go to foster care immediately after we pass away in a car accident. How could you help us in this regard?
Q: How about reassessment of my house after I set up a trust? Will my property tax increase because of that?
Q: We are both H-1b visa holders with two minor children and I just heard about $60,000 “death tax exemption”. How does my legal status affect my estate planning process?
Q: I intend to purchase other houses in the future. How do I transfer these houses into my trust in the future?
Q: Will your trust prevent me from being sued in the future?
Q: Do I need to pay tax for my trust?
Q: Do I need a family trust, a husband’s trust, a wife’s trust, a children’s trust, a grandchildren’s trust, a great-grandchildren’s trust all at the same time?