Irvine Estate Planning & Probate Lawyer
Modern Wealth Law in Irvine focuses exclusively in the area of estate planning & probate law and prepare customized estate plans for clients with a wide range of backgrounds, assets and goals. To that end, the Irvine estate planning lawyers at Modern Wealth Law believe in drafting estate planning documents that you can understand. We will explain the complexities of the estate and gift tax laws, probate law and provide you with explanations and instructions to assist you in the continued management of your estate plan. In short, Modern Wealth Law has the experience and expertise to craft estate plans of all levels of sophistication that are not cost-prohibitive.
Modern Wealth Law serves individuals, families and business owners with their estate planning, trust and probate needs in Irvine and throughout Orange County. The approach of each Irvine Estate Planning Attorney at Modern Wealth Law is simple: we listen. We listen to your estate planning goals, we learn about your family situation and understand your overall financial picture, so that we can prepare a customized estate plan to protect your family and your assets. Regardless of your situation, we have the estate planning experience to guide you through this estate planning process.
Estate Planning Basics 101
Estate planning is the process of making decisions regarding the management and distribution of your care and your estate (your assets) during your lifetime and after your passing. These decisions include:
- Who will manage your estate if you become incapacitated or pass away?
- Who will take care of your minor children if you are not able to care for them?
- When and how will your family members or loved ones receive your assets?
- Who will make health care decisions for you if you are unable?
- How to protect your beneficiaries from future ex-spouses or creditors
- How to avoid the probate process
- Avoiding the payment of estate taxes, income taxes and property taxes
- Avoiding or minimizing family disputes
While much of estate planning is based upon federal law (estate taxes), certain laws related to estate planning are different from state to state (asset protection and income taxes), or even outside of Orange County (property taxes), so you should consult with an estate planning lawyer who is familiar with the laws in your area.
The estate planning documents used to make these decisions and others are referred to as your estate plan. When a Irvine estate planning lawyer at Modern Wealth Law prepares an estate plan for you, it will consist of at least the following documents:
- Revocable Living Trust
- Will
- Durable Power of Attorney
- Advance Health Care Directive
- Trust Certification
- Funding Documents
- Property Agreements
- Other miscellaneous documents depending upon your individual situation
Estate Planning & Probate Expertise in Irvine, CA
Each of our attorneys are knowledgeable of the many unique issues specific to Irvine residents. Estate planning in Irvine requires a vast knowledge of Irvine property taxes, including HOAs and Mellos Roos.
Irvine California Bar Certified Estate Planning Specialist John L. Wong has represented some of the most well-known estates in the country, including the Estate of Michael Jackson and the Estate of Britney Spears. John’s clients in Irvine range from working professionals and small business owners to the mass affluent and high net-worth individuals. John has represented generations of families, from a great grandmother at 95 years of age, to her great grandson at 25 years of age.
Anh P. Tran is an estate planning & probate lawyer in Irvine who previously worked at Ayco, a Goldman Sachs company located in Irvine, where she advised executives of Fortune 100 companies on estate and tax planning issues. Anh continues to work with executives of large companies and tech startups in the Irvine area.
As the founding shareholders of Modern Wealth Law, John and Anh continue to work closely with residents and business owners throughout Irvine and Orange County.
The Essential Estate Planning Documents
The Revocable Living Trust is the cornerstone of all estate planning documents. The Trust may act much like a separate legal entity that holds your assets, however, it is taxed as if you own all of the assets. For most purposes, assets in a Revocable Living Trust are treated no different than assets held in your name alone. However, in order for a Trust to be effective, you need to fund your Trust. Essentially, this means that you must transfer your assets (e.g. your house, investment accounts, etc.) into the Trust. Assets that are held in Trust will generally avoid probate.
Historically, a testamentary trust (a trust created at death through a Will) was the cornerstone of your estate plan. Today, a Will is used in conjunction with your Living Trust. The Will is intended to be a catch-all, for all assets that are not in your Trust. The concept is that any assets that aren’t in the Trust at your death, are caught by your Will and then poured into your Trust. This type of Will is often referred to as a Pour-Over Will.
Your Will also serves another important function. The Will is the place in your estate plan where you name the guardian of your minor children.
The combination of your Trust and your Will prepared by a Irvine estate planning attorney at Modern Wealth Law should dispose of all of your estate assets to the beneficiaries of your choosing.
Why Do You Need Other Estate Planning Documents?
Your Durable Power of Attorney, allows you to appoint an Agent, also referred to as an “Attorney-in-Fact,” to handle your financial decisions in case of your incapacity. Similarly, an Advance Health Care Directive appoints an Agent to handle your health care decisions in case of your incapacity.
While these are considered the “basic” estate planning documents, there are many other estate planning issues that must be discussed in preparing and customizing each of these documents.
Advanced Estate Planning
More sophisticated estate planning will also include other types of trusts, such as:
- Gift trusts
- Life Insurance Trusts
- Generation-Skipping Trusts
- Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRAT)
- Qualified Personal Residence Trusts (QPRT)
- Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRT)
- Charitable Lead Trusts (CLT)
- Asset Protection Trusts (APT)_
- Private Retirement Trusts (PRT)
- Foreign Trusts
Other components of estate planning include advice on LLC and other entity formation, property tax reassessment issues, business succession planning, asset protection planning, and the often-overlooked issue of preparing the next generation for handling wealth.
Free Consultation With Our Irvine Estate Planning & Probate Attorneys
For a free consultation, or to learn more about how the Irvine estate planning & probate attorneys of Modern Wealth Law can assist you with your estate planning needs, including living trusts, wills, probate administration and trust litigation. Contact us today using our website contact form, or call us at (949) 371-5003 to schedule an initial consultation. We also serve clients throughout Orange County and Los Angeles County with offices in both Irvine and Century City.
