You have spent your whole life working hard to build your wealth and protect your loved ones. Although you are here to protect them now, it is important to plan for the time after your death. Estate planning conversations can be difficult, but they are necessary.
At my firm – the Law Office of Barbara J. Dibble – I work closely with clients to facilitate conversations about the end of life, health care options, and asset distribution. Contact me, a Fullerton, California, trust administration lawyer, online or call 714-515-5126 to schedule a free initial consultation and learn more about estate planning and trust administration.
Orange County Business Formation Lawyer
I help clients throughout Fullerton and Orange County with most aspects of estate planning, including:
- Wills: After you die, your estate planning documents are the only thing that can communicate your wishes to your family and loved ones. A will is never enough by itself. I help clients write wills, trusts, and estate planning documents that make clear how they would like their assets divided and whom they would like named as beneficiaries. You will also use a will to name guardians for your children.
- Trusts: I help clients prepare trusts to explain how they would like their money divided and to leave instructions for its distribution. We look at the big picture, using trusts to proactively address estate taxes down the road, to avoid the expense of probate, and to control and manage money left to older children or for the care of loved ones or the care of minor children after you are gone.
- Tax implications: Recent changes in federal law could have a significant effect on whether you are required to pay estate taxes. I help clients consider what they could be expected to pay in estate taxes and how they can plan to accommodate additional changes to estate taxation expected in the future.
- Probate: Generally, probate is something you want to avoid, and proper estate planning can accomplish that. If a loved one dies without a trust or a will or with only a will, you can be faced with a probate, and you need an experienced attorney to guide you through the process. I have experience handling complex probate proceedings.
- Trust administration: Administration of someone's trust when he or she dies requires a trustee to take certain legal actions within legal deadlines. I work with trustees to help them carry out their duties and avoid liability for improper trust administration. I also work closely with clients who are beneficiaries of trusts.
- Advance health care directives and durable powers of attorney for finance: If you become incapacitated or unable to make decisions for yourself, it is important to have one or more people in place who can handle your finances and make health care decisions for you when you are not able to do so. I help clients think about what is important to them and about the people to whom they wish to give the authority to make these decisions.
I also work with business owners to determine the best entity for their business formation. I also help clients with ongoing business operations and business succession planning.
California Power of Attorney Law Firm
Questions about powers of attorney or trust administration? Schedule your free initial consultation with an experienced lawyer by contacting me, an Orange County business formation attorney, online or calling 714-515-5126. I have regular office hours, with evening and weekend appointments available. I am willing to visit clients at home, in the hospital or at an assisted living facility. My office is located near the North Orange County Superior Courthouse, by the 57 and 91 Freeways.