Estate Planning

Three Reasons to Keep Your Estate Out of Probate

If all you have is a last will and testament (or worse – nothing at all), then when you pass on, your estate will have to go through probate court. Of course, probate is there for a reason. It’s not all bad. However, there are some excellent reasons to try and pass as much as possible to your heirs without this provision. Here are a few reasons:

• It can affect how much your beneficiaries receive – Probate court isn’t free. The longer the money stays tied up, the more court costs will consume, leaving less for your loved ones.
• It is a matter of public record – Sadly, we have to worry about scams and thieves. That is the world we live in today. If it is on public record what you left to your family members, it could result in criminals targeting your heirs.
• It can result in delayed receipt of assets – Your beneficiaries may not even receive their inheritance for months or years after you pass away. This is especially true if there is no will or if the will was poorly written, and it ends up contested in court.

Estate Planning Attorneys in San Diego

You can keep much of your estate out of probate court by having your estate planning handled professionally. Call the experienced attorneys of Petrov Law Firm today at 619.344.0360 to learn more. Whether you need to start your estate plan from scratch or update an existing plan, we’re here to help residents of southern California.

Be Certain Your Estate Plan Includes Long-Term Care

Long-term care relates to the medical attention you may require in the final years of your life. While this is something we don’t often think about (mostly because we don’t want to), it can be something that seriously affects the estate that you leave to your family. Here are three reasons to be sure that long-term care is factored into your estate planning.

• You may be more likely to need care than you think – In fact, about 40% of Americans end up in a care facility at the end of their life. 1 in 10 people spends three years or more in a nursing home.
• Long-term care is expensive – Depending on the facility you end up in, long-term care can cost anywhere from $40,000 per year up to well into the six-figure range. For most people, that can go through an estate pretty quickly.
• Insurance doesn’t cover long-term care – Medicare doesn’t cover an expense like this. If you do have coverage for long-term care, you may be paying out just as much in premiums as you eventually would have in care. In order to leave something for your family, you have to find a better way to plan ahead.

Long-Term Care as a Part of Your Estate Planning

If you live in the San Diego area, contact the estate planning attorneys at Petrov Law Firm by calling 619.344.0360 today. We can help you to develop an estate plan that leaves your assets to your family rather than to a long-term care facility.

How to Estate Plan the Right Way

Estate planning is a necessity, but it can also be something we have a tendency to put off. Whether it is a lack of interest in thinking about mortality or you just don’t know where to begin, procrastination can set in. However, you don’t want your family to suffer due to a lack of planning, so here are a few tips for estate planning the right way.

• Hire an estate planning attorney – If you don’t have a huge estate, you may think of this as a waste of money. However, hiring an attorney can help you to maximize the benefits for your family. That’s worth a small fee because your family may lose out on even more of their inheritance in probate court without the right documents in order.
• Don’t just think about material assets – What happens if you get sick and become incapacitated? Have you made plans for your future medical wishes and care? If you have minor children, you need to think about what will happen to them if you and your spouse were to pass away simultaneously.
• Start today – Don’t put it off any longer. If you don’t know where to begin, make calling a trustworthy attorney your first step.

San Diego’s Estate Planning Attorneys

Petrov Law Firm can help you to plan ahead without the hassle. Give us a call today at 619.344.0360 and schedule a consultation so we can learn about your unique circumstances and help you to plan your estate in a way that meets your personal needs.

How to Be a Good Successor Trustee

If you are a successor trustee, you may feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. You need to carry out the assignment you have been entrusted with in a conscientious way. How can ensure that the beneficiaries of the trust receive what they deserve and are treated fairly? Here are a few tips.

• Hire an accountant – The trustor wouldn’t have chosen you for this job if you weren’t honest. However, if you are not an accountant, you could still make a mistake that costs the family money. Therefore, the smart thing to do is to use a small portion of the trust fund to hire someone to help out on the financial side.
• Just do your job – As a successor trustee, you really just have one job – carry out the wishes of the trustor. Stick to the instructions you have been provided. When in doubt, think about what the person who trusted you with this assignment would have wanted. This isn’t the time to go rogue.
• Be happy for the beneficiaries – Hopefully, the trustor left you something in compensation for your role. If not, or if the task becomes arduous and drawn out, don’t give in to envy. This can result in bad decisions.

Estate Planning Help in San Diego

Petrov Law Firm has the expert attorneys that you want on your side when estate planning. Give us a call today at 619.344.0360 to get started on your plan or to update an existing one.

Two Ways to Integrate Estate Planning and Your Retirement Funds

There are many ways to save for your own future as well as to put money aside for your family. If you want to incorporate your retirement planning into your estate, then there are a number of ways to do so. One way is to make your trust the beneficiary of your estate plans. Why is this a smart idea? Here are a couple of reasons:

• You never have to change your beneficiary – Your trust is static, so there is no need ever to change your retirement fund beneficiary. However, if you chose your mate as the beneficiary of your retirement fund, then you have to remember to change the beneficiary if your mate passes away before you or if you get divorced. It just simplifies the process.
• You protect your loved ones from financial mistakes – Removing funds from a retirement account too soon or in large increments can cause major taxation issues. To protect your loved ones from making such a mistake during the grieving process, you can appoint a successor trustee to help them make better financial decisions. Of course, the retirement fund has to go into the trust when you pass away in order for the successor trustee to be able to provide this kind of advice and assistance.

California Estate Planning to Meet the Needs of Your Family

Petrov Law Firm wants to help you plan ahead so that your family has a secure future without your own retirement fund being affected. Call 619.344.0360 to get started on your California estate plan today.

Probate Tips for California Residents 

California probate court will come into play for your beneficiaries regardless of whether you leave behind a will or not. So does that mean there is no point in preparing your estate while you are still alive? Hardly! Here are a few things you need to know about probate court in California so that you can plan accordingly.

• Your executor is named in your will – If you don’t have a will, the court will appoint someone to handle matters. Isn’t it better to make this choice for yourself and your family?
• Probate ensures taxes get paid – If you use estate planning to avoid probate, an accountant will have to help your family determine if any of the inheritance is taxable. Probate court will take care of this beforehand.
• Probate is on the record. That means anyone can go to the public records office and find out what you left for your family. It could potentially make them a target for a con artist or a thief.
• Probate may drag on – When this happens, not only do court fees pile up, but the stress on your family increases as well. It is better to have a well-defined estate plan so that there is no in-fighting regarding your assets.

Southern California’s Experienced Estate Planning Attorneys

Before you say it isn’t worth it to pay for legal help while estate planning, think about how much it may cost your family if you don’t. Then call Petrov Law Firm at 619.344.0360 for affordable estate planning in southern California.

Two Musts for Your Estate Plan if You Have Minor Children

If you have kids who are still under 18, you may not even think you are old enough to worry about estate planning. However, you do have to consider unexpected tragedies and how your family could be impacted if you don’t plan ahead. Here are a couple of things that absolutely must be a part of your estate planning if you have children.

• Set up a trust – A trust can be designed to leave an inheritance for your children when they come of legal age (or any age you set). This allows a successor trustee to protect the inheritance while your kids are still kids. You can also include special disbursements such as for school supplies or medical bills to help their legal guardians.
• Select legal guardians – One thing to think about is who will raise your children should you and your spouse pass away at the same time. Whether you pick family members or close friends, you may want to include input from your kids. Be sure to express your wishes to the guardians you designate, but also realize that everyone will have their own parenting style.

If You Are a Parent, Now Is the Time for Estate Planning

Whether you haven’t done any estate planning yet or you haven’t updated the plans to include things that are necessary for the children, now is the time. Call Petrov Law Firm at 619.344.0360 for all of your California estate planning needs.

The Absolute Worst Mistakes You Can Make When It Comes to Estate Planning

Estate planning is one of those activities that people often procrastinate over. After all, whether you are young and healthy right now or you are getting older and experiencing health problems, no one wants to think about their mortality. However, this is something really important for your loved ones. Here are the absolute worst mistakes that you can make when it comes to estate planning so that you can avoid them.

• Putting it off – You may think you have more time, and then an unexpected tragedy occurs. Accidents happen all the time, so the best time to be prepared is right now. Plus, you don’t have to die to need an estate plan. It can also allow you to provide medical direction should you ever become incapacitated.
• Not reviewing it – Even if you have an estate plan already in place, you need to look over it annually to make sure nothing has changed. This is particularly important if you move to another state since estate planning laws vary across the country.
• Doing it yourself – DIY is a popular way to save money, but this one of the times to hire a professional. You need to know exactly what you are signing off on and that your documents have been executed in a proper way. Don’t leave the future of your family to chance by using some one-size-fits-all last will and testament off the Internet.

California’s Estate Planning Experts

Petrov Law Firm has the estate planning lawyers that you want helping plan ahead for the needs of your family. Call us today at 619.344.0360 to start on your estate plan or to update your existing documents.

Estate Plan Considerations for Frequent Flyers

While you can’t think of every possible contingency when developing your estate plan, you want to give consideration to matters that are relevant both in general and for your family in particular. If you travel on a regular basis, that means that there should be a few extra contingencies in your plan. Here are two things that you need to think about.

• Does your estate plan take into account the possibility of dying in a foreign country? – Whether you travel for business or pleasure, if you are spending a great deal of time in other countries, this is a legitimate consideration. You need to think about the expense of repatriating your body or the costs of being buried in the land where you pass away, and how either situation should be handled by your next of kin.
• Does your estate plan account for the possibility of you and your spouse dying together? – While flying is a relatively safe form of travel, accidents and other disasters can happen. If you and your mate regularly travel together, you need to be sure that your estate is prepared. Leaving everything to your mate only works as an estate plan if your spouse survives you. You need other contingencies in place just in case that isn’t how things work out.

Smarter Planning for the Future in Southern California

The estate planning pros at Petrov Law Firm can help you to plan ahead for the contingencies that may affect your family. To learn more, give us a call at 619.344.0360, and schedule a consultation to set up your estate plan or to review an existing one.

Caring for Beneficiaries Who Live with Mental Illness

Just about every American family knows first-hand what it is like to deal with mental illness. This is because one recent article reported that nearly a third of American’s will have an anxiety disorder at some point in their life, and more than 20% will experience depression or another mood disorder.

You have to account for this when you are leaving an estate for your loved ones. Here are a few ways to make sure your family can enjoy their inheritance even if they are presently living with a chronic health ailment that affects their mental state.

• Carefully select your successor trustee – You need someone who will both respect your wishes regarding dispensation and who will be kind to your loved one who is living with an illness.
• Provide explicit instructions – Don’t leave anything up to chance. Be explicit in your explanation of how to dispense the funds in a trust or other account. This will benefit both your trustee when it comes to making decisions as well as your loved one.
• Cover medical treatment – You can include a clause that allows for early dispensation of funds for voluntary medical treatment. The trust will pay the medical facility directly so that the funds go for the right purpose, and your loved one gets the care that they need.

Protecting Your Loved Ones with Your Estate Planning

The purpose of these extra steps is not to embarrass your loved one but to protect them. You would do the same if they had a different type of health condition. Petrov Law Firm wants to help. Call us today at 619.344.0360 for all of your California estate planning needs.