Estate planning is the process of protecting your wealth now and providing for its smooth transfer after you die. Prudent and comprehensive estate planning has numerous advantages: it provides safeguards for your retirement and the inevitable infirmity of old age, reduces your exposure to taxation and liability, facilitates the quick transfer of assets to beneficiaries who might be depending on them, and allows you to place appropriate conditions on your bequests. Estate planning has long been a prerogative of the very wealthy. But with the assistance of Gates Law Group, A Professional Corporation, you can give your estate, regardless of size, the same protections at a very reasonable cost.
A living trust is one that you set up during your lifetime. The trust holds your property for your enjoyment and then seamlessly passes the property to your heirs at your passing. Trusts have some advantages over wills, such as bypassing probate, so your heirs have immediate access to assets. A trust also allows you to put conditions on a bequest that you couldn’t put in a will.
Trusts are flexible instruments you can draft according to your legacy goals. Popular trusts include:
Trusts can be revocable, so you can dissolve them at any time, or irrevocable, so that you have limited control after you establish them. We explain your full range of options and help you select the protection that best suits your circumstances.
Interested parties can challenge the establishment of a trust if they have reason to believe it may be invalid. Grounds for invalidating a trust include:
Disputes can also arise during the operation of a trust. Beneficiaries may allege mismanagement or a breach of fiduciary duty if the trustee:
We represent beneficiaries and trustees in disputes over the operation of trusts in Fresno and throughout California.
Gates Law Group, A Professional Corporation provides peace of mind through meticulous estate planning, assisting with trusts and estates. Please call 559-432-9944 or contact us online to schedule a consultation. Our firm’s main office is in Fresno, but we also assist clients from locations in Paso Robles and Visalia.