Trusts & Estate Planning

How We Can Help

We help create your Trust and comprehensive Estate Planning solutions tailored to your specific needs and goals. Our dedicated team is here to support you in developing personalized Living Wills, Powers of Attorney, Health Care Directives, and robust Trusts and Estate Plans.

You're Unique, So Your Plan Should Be Too.

We listen carefully to what you need.  We work closely with you to create a strategy that effectively protects your assets and ensures the future well-being of your family.  With our guidance, we can help you develop and maintain family privacy and fulfillment of your your wishes.

Protecting Your Family And Your Future

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What is an "Estate Plan"?

You don't need a mansion in Beverly Hills to need an Estate Plan.  Your greatest asset is your independence and autonomy.  An "Estate Plan" allows us to prepare a variety of documents to make sure the state or county doesn't step in to control your wishes during your lifetime and following your life.

Estate Planning is the planning of your estate for after your life. Your estate includes all of your money (savings, investments, etc.), your life insurance, your house, other real estate, your business, all of your personal property, and even your pets. By planning what you want to happen to these things before your death, you can guarantee that your life’s work will garner the respect it deserves after your death by having your wishes honored. Your estate plan will also protect you as you get older, making sure you are safe and taken care of. In addition to this, estate planning helps protect your children, family members, and pets amid a hard time, helping them avoid the stress of planning your estate after you are gone. Our team can help you achieve all that you want to with your legacy and to protect it.

 

What is a will?

I like to say a will is a "Dear Judge Letter." A will is not dispositive and must be administered in a process called Probate. Your Last Will and Testament describes how you wish your affairs to be handled and how your assets will be distributed following your death during the probate process.

What is a Trust?

I hear clients ask “Why do I Need a Trust” every day.  A Trust holds your money or property in a special way. It helps you avoid probate and keeps your plans private. It's a strong tool to help you and your family.

Take a look at my recent Article regarding What to Expect at an "Estate Plan Consultation"

What can our team do for you?

We develop your personalized plan using a variety of documents such as Wills, Trusts, Health Care Directives and Powers of Attorney to meet your individual needs and goals. We help develop the plan to best protects your assets and your family’s future; while maintaining family privacy and keeping control of your wishes.

We discuss what your values are, what your needs are and how your needs and the needs of your family can be protected and represented in your Estate Plan.

Our unique law firm experience is a 5-step proven process you will be 100% thrilled with.
Unlike other firms, we don't just sell documents, we deliver peace of mind. We communicate with you, listen to you, and we treat you with the same care and respect we'd want for our own family.

We have streamlined the estate plan process, so you can spend less time at your lawyer’s office
and more time living your life!

The JakobLegal Difference: 5-step process:

1. We Get to Know Eachother

You will be assigned a Client Coordinator who will immediately begin helping you to prepare for your appointment. You will chat with us about your goals, concerns, and your family. We will schedule your signing date so you'll know your goal is in sight.

2. Meet with your Attorney

At your attorney meeting, once our client agreement is signed, we will begin our promised attorney/customer service experience. We will curate the best plan to achieve your goals and ease your concerns at this comprehensive appointment.

3. Personalized Plan Developed

Our team will roll up their sleeves to begin your personalized and detailed plan design. It will be developed and tailored to your exact needs, and the appropriate documents will be drafted.

4. Signing Meeting

At the signing, we'll go over every detail and ensure you fully comprehend your plan. We simplify complex legal jargon, making it accessible to you and your family, so you don't need legal expertise to understand how it benefits you.

5. Life Happens:

We are all human and life has its unexpected twists and turns. Our promise to you is
we will help you along the way and be here for your family when you need it the most.

Effective Trusts & Estate Planning Services

A trust may offer you a variety of advantages, such as:

  • Avoiding Probate
  • Protecting Adult Children from their Potential Mistakes
  • Minimizing or Avoiding Tax Consequences
  • Keeping Financial Information Private
  • Setting Money Aside for Your Children and Grand Children
  • Setting Aside Money for Potential Disability or Long-Term Care
  • Assisting with Supplemental Needs or Special Needs
  • Obtaining Medicaid for yourself or a loved one

Types Of Trusts

  • Revocable Living Trust
  • Living Trust
  • Joint Trust
  • Spendthrift Trust
  • Irrevocable Trust
  • Medicaid Trust
  • Land Trust
  • Testamentary Trust

Links and Resources

Nursing Home Costs Rise Sharply in 2017

By Andrea Jakob | December 27, 2019
Estate Planning, Wills And Trusts

The median cost of a private nursing home room in the United States has increased to $97,455 a year, up 5.5 percent from 2016, according to Genworth’s 2017 Cost of Care survey, which the insurer conducts annually. Genworth reports that the median cost of a semi-private room in a nursing home is $85,775, up 4.44…

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Now Is the Time to Review Your Medicare Options

By Andrea Jakob | December 26, 2019
Estate Planning, Wills And Trusts

Are you happy with your current Medicare plan or plans? Now is the time to think about whether you are in the right plan or whether a new plan could save you money. Medicare’s Open Enrollment Period, in which you can enroll in or switch plans, runs from October 15 to December 7. During this…

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How to Reverse Medicare Surcharges When Your Income Changes

By Andrea Jakob | December 11, 2019
Estate Planning, Wills And Trusts

What happens if you are a high-income Medicare beneficiary who is paying a surcharge on your premiums and then your income changes? If your circumstances change, you can reverse those surcharges. Higher-income Medicare beneficiaries (individuals who earn more than $85,000) pay higher Part B and prescription drug benefit premiums than lower-income Medicare beneficiaries. The extra…

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Digital Assets Raise Estate Planning Questions

By Andrea Jakob | December 11, 2019
Estate Planning, Wills And Trusts

More and more, we are conducting our business on the Internet, whether that’s online banking, shopping at Amazon and other sites, uploading documents and files to the “cloud,” posting videos on YouTube, or communicating with high school classmates via Facebook. So, what happens to all of our accounts and files when we become incapacitated or…

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Four Provisions People Forget to Include in Their Estate Plan

By Andrea Jakob | December 11, 2019
Estate Planning, Wills And Trusts

Even if you’ve created an estate plan, are you sure you included everything you need to? There are certain provisions that people often forget to put in in a will or estate plan that can have a big impact on your family. Alternate Beneficiaries One of the most important things your estate plan should include…

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Take These Three Steps When Your Child Turns 18

By Andrea Jakob | December 11, 2019
Estate Planning, Wills And Trusts

If your child has reached the teenage years, you may already feel as though you are losing control of her life. This is legally true once your child reaches the age of 18 because then the state considers your child to be an adult with the legal right to govern his or her own life.…

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Florida Nursing Home Tragedy Causes Rethinking of Disaster Preparedness

By Andrea Jakob | December 11, 2019
Estate Planning, Wills And Trusts

The recent tragedy in which ten Florida nursing home residents died when the nursing home lost power during Hurricane Irma is causing government officials to rethink disaster planning. In response to the deaths, Florida Governor Rick Scott announced a new emergency rule, requiring nursing homes and assisted living facilities in the state to have generators…

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Uh Oh Irma! Hurricane Season is here – How to protect and prepare!

By Andrea Jakob | December 11, 2019
Estate Planning, Wills And Trusts

Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. But follow these steps to make sure you are prepared: If your original, signed documents are not in a safety deposit box try the following safe places to store them. They need to be in a watertight container of some sort and put it up high…

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Personal items may be inexpensive, but are priceless for their sentimental value.

By Andrea Jakob | December 11, 2019
Estate Planning, Wills And Trusts

My clients often come to me with a list of assets such as homes, bank and investment accounts that they would like to pass to their heirs. What is usually missing are the personal items that may not be expensive, but are priceless for their sentimental value. It is often these items that will cause…

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George Michael’s partner ‘gotta have more than “Faith”‘ to inherit from the superstar.

By Andrea Jakob | December 11, 2019
Estate Planning, Wills And Trusts

At only 53 years old, it is hard to believe that superstar and former Wham! Frontman, George Michael, tragically died of natural causes on Christmas Day in 2016. He was found by, Fadi Fawaz, rumored to be his partner, who is now seemingly going to be kicked out of the star’s home. The singer of…

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“Leave A Legacy, Not A Mess”

Emerald Publications – September, 2007

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