Estate Planning

Estate planning is the means by which people ensure that their assets are protected and distributed to their heirs upon their death and/or a means by which people manage their assets during their life.

Dozier & Dozier has extensive experience in the field of estate planing. Our areas of experties includes

Wills
Trusts
Durable Powers of Attorney
Health Care Directives

        Everybody's situation is uniqe. In order to determine which estate plan is the most appropriate for you, we will ask you to complete a simple information sheet.

        After detemining the type of estate plan that suites your situation, we will draft the needed documents which then you can review and discuss with your spouse and/or family before we prepare the final documents for you to sign.


      Will

        A will is simplest method to leave ones property to another upon one's death. A will is the least expensive estate planning tool, however; it is only suitable for people with no real property and with an estate worth $100,000.00 or less. In any other case the estate will have to go to traditional probate which can be expensive and can take anywhere from four months to several years. It is only in the case of a small estate and with complete agreement among beneficiaries that the distribution of the  deceased's estate outside the probate court proceeding may be possible.

        There are two types of wills, formal wills and holographic wills. Formal wills are usually typewritten and prepared by an attorney. The person who is making the will and two disinterested witnesses must sign and date the formal will. There is also a holographic will. It is a handwritten document that must be signed and dated by the person who is making the will. No witnesses are required. Is is used less often as it is more prone to being challenged.

      Trust

        A trust is an entity created to hold assets for the benefit of certain person(s) or entities.  A trust is managed by a trustee who upon the maker's death will manage and disperse the estate.

There are many reasons for creating a trust. Some of the more common reasons are:

to manage assets during the lifetime of the person creating the trust, and to pass them on to chosen beneficiaries without probate.

to manage assets for a child until he or she reaches a certain age. The trustee can use the income or principal as he or she sees fit to pay for the child's needs, such as health and education.

to manage assets for an adult who is incapable of handling them.

to manage assets for a surviving spouse while holding property for the children of a prior marriage.
to attempt to shield assets from creditors through irrevocable and spendthrift trusts.

to reduce estate taxes.

        If a trust is established, then certain assets will need to be transferred to the trust. Dozier and Dozier will assist you through this process.

        Durable Powers of Attorney

        A power of attorney is a legal document that gives someone or someones you choose the power to make decisions in your place. To ensure that the person(s) you have chosen can act in your place, you will need to make a "durable" power of attorney which stays in effect in case you ever become incapable of making decisions for yourself. The "nondurable" power of attorney automatically ends when the person who made the power of attorney becomes mentally incapable of making decisions.

If anything would happen to you, without a valid power of attorney, your family may have to go to court to get the authority to manage you affairs. With a valid power of attorney, the person you trust and named will be legally authorized to manage your affairs; financial and/or medical matters.

It is important to prepare both, medical and financial powers of attorney as these documents can certainly make life easier for you and your family in times of great hardship.

Health Care Directives

        A Health Care Directives form also called Power of Attorney for Health Care, is a document that lets you choose someone to make health care decisions for you if you become incapable of making them for yourself or if you simply want someone else to make them for you. You can also decide whether your Agent will excercise full or limited power in making your health care decisions.


   Probate

        Probate, in the State of California, is a complex legal process of proving the validity of a Will and thereafter administering the deceased's estate according to his/her wishes. It is a costly and time consuming process; however, it is easily bypassed thorough the creation of a Trust.

Dozier & Dozier Attorneys at Law

Estate Planning