Areas of Practice –

The firm’s practice is now devoted to estate planning, probate and trust administration, probate and trust litigation, and conservatorship matters. In order to meet the needs of individuals, the firm accepts all legal insurance plans.

ESTATE PLANNING
Planning your estate today means much more than merely writing a will or planning for the transfer of your property when you pass away. An estate plan may also ensure that your minor children are cared for; minimize the adverse effects of incapacity prior to death; and reduce anticipated income and tax liabilities.

In order to maximize your planning, it is essential to understand the various estate planning documents available.

Living Trust
This is a document which is created while you are alive, and certain assets are placed in the trust by changing title to the assets into the name of the trust. If your assets are properly placed in the trust, they are distributed outside of the probate court, shortly after your death. If you choose a trust, most people also have a will so that small personal items may be passed on to others.

Will
This document will transfer any property which has not been included in your trust. It also allows you to designate the person that will care for your minor children in the event of death. If you do not have a Trust, then with the exception of "small estates," property transferred by will must be probated by the Probate Court.

Advance Health Care Directive
This document allows you to authorize an agent of your choice to make health care decisions for you under certain circumstances. You may also use this form to nominate a conservator. This power of attorney is "durable", that means it survives a person's incapacity.

An Advance Healthcare Directive states your wishes regarding artificial life support systems in the event of a terminal illness and it allows you to limit medical treatment. It will express your wishes regarding organ donations and special requests for your services. Many components of this document used to be part of a document referred to as a "Living Will".

Uniform Statutory Power of Attorney
This document allows you to designate another person to handle your financial affairs. The form lists 13 categories of authority available to your agent. You may grant all 13 categories, or just 1, depending on your needs. Some examples of the categories of authorities are: real property transactions, stock and banking transactions.

Summary
Estate planning is completely unique to each person and their family circumstances. Each of the estate planning tools have advantages and disadvantages. No one document will benefit every person. Each must be specifically written to cover your personal situation. Some of the key factors which are important in your estate planning are the value of your estate, your marital status, and the number of children which you have.

To ensure that your estate plan meets the requirements set out by the California Probate Code, it is essential that you review your estate and your family's needs with an experienced attorney. One final point to remember is that no estate plan is carved in stone. Your estate plan may be changed as often as your needs change.

PROBATE & TRUST ADMINISTRATION
Probate administration is the court supervised administration of the estate of a person who has passed away, either with, or without a Will. In summary, the court will appoint someone to represent the estate. The representative will collect all of the decedent’s assets, pay the decedent’s debts and expenses of the estate, and then distribute the estate according to order of the court.

Trust administration entails the administration of a trust while either the creator is incapacitated, or after the creator has passed away. Trust administration follows much of the same activities as probate administration, but generally without court supervision.

PROBATE & TRUST LITIGATION
While everyone would like to stay out of litigation, sometimes it is necessary if the rules of the California Probate Code are not being properly followed.

CONSERVATORSHIP
Conservatorship is a legal status to which a court appoints someone as the Conservator of an incapacitated person, or their estate, or both. Conservatorship of the Estate requires management of the financial affairs of an incapacitated person. Conservatorship of the Person requires the Conservator to be responsible for establishing and monitoring the physical care of the incapacitated individual and managing their living arrangements.

IN MEMORIUM
C. David Herring, Esq.

Disclaimer

Attorney Advertising. The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. All information available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Use of this website does not in any manner constitute an attorney-client relationship between HERRING & HERRING, APC and the user.

We welcome inquiries about our services.

We’re located at –

1001 B Avenue, Suite 215
Coronado, California 92118

Tel: 619-437-9175
Fax: 619-437-1131

Email: Inquiries@HerringLaw.net