Carlsbad Trust attorney Andrew Fesler discusses the benefits of an estate planning attorney. As a leading attorney in Carlsbad, California, he specializes in estate administration and probate, trust administration, advance directives, business succession planning, and all aspects of estate planning. To learn more about how an estate planning attorney can help you, contact the Law Office of Andrew Fesler at (760) 444-0943 or message us online.
Transcript:
“In California, our probate system is onerous. It’s expensive. It takes a long time to get through probate, and when someone passes away, if their what we call probate estate is worth more than about $180,000, it could take a year, 18 months, maybe even longer. It could be expensive, and it’s a hassle to get through. The first thing most people think of is that a trust will help avoid probate, and so they want to get a trust.
There are other documents that go along with a trust, however. You still need a will if you do a trust. You need powers of attorney to help manage your assets if you become incapacitated during your life. A lot of people don’t think about powers of attorney as much, but they’re actually the documents that people may wind up using while they’re still alive. An advanced healthcare directive obviously designates the person that you want to make medical decisions for you, and a financial power of attorney allows somebody to pay your bills, pay your taxes, collect retirement payments, etc. if you’re incapacitated during life. It really all is a package that we will usually do all at once for our client to make sure that we’ve covered all of their bases.”
