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

A Bit of Relief for Retirement Account Owners

By Andrea Jakob | May 28, 2020
IRA Savings

The coronavirus pandemic caused the stock market to tumble, depleting many retirement accounts. RMDs for this year would be based on the value of the account at the end of 2019, when the account likely had more money in it because the stock market was at a high point. Although the market has rallied somewhat, it still isn’t back to where it was at the end of 2019.

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Spare your Heirs Undue Stress

By Andrea Jakob | May 18, 2020

Organize your wishes so your heirs don’t have undue stress.

Open to download my Ultimate Organizer PDF so that your family will have less stress during a very stressful time.

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Five Common Mistakes with “DIY” (Do It Yourself) Estate Plans

By Andrea Jakob | May 7, 2020
Senior man and woman couple embracing at sunset or sunrise on a deserted tropical beach. They relay in Jakob Legal for Probate

A DIY estate plan can lead to a false sense of security because it may not achieve what you think it does. If your DIY will is not valid, your property and money will go to heirs specified by state law—who may not be the people you would have chosen. An unfunded trust will be ineffective.

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How to Protect Your Will From Unhappy Relatives

By Andrea Jakob | May 5, 2020
Contesting a Will

Will contests should be avoided at all costs. Not only can a contest derail your final wishes, but it can also rapidly deplete your estate and wreak emotional havoc on the family members left behind. Fear not. With proper planning, you can prevent that from happening.

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Don’t Risk it: Protect Your Finances From Coronavirus Complications

By Andrea Jakob | April 28, 2020
Don't social distance your family from important matters

While feeling healthy, individuals should plan ahead now and ensure that someone will take care of their financial duties by setting up a Financial Power of Attorney.

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Preparing for Coronavirus: The #1 Legal Document Every Adult Needs to Have

By Andrea Jakob | April 20, 2020

As the coronavirus continues to disrupt daily life and leave Americans uncertain of the future, you don’t have to feel helpless during this pandemic. In fact, now is a great time to be proactive and plan ahead should you or a loved one fall ill. One of the most important and relatively easy things you can do (and should do) is to select a medical agent and set up your advance healthcare directive.

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How Your Stimulus Check Affects Medicaid Eligibility

By Andrea Jakob | April 13, 2020
Jakob Legal - Elder Law

Medicaid recipients are wondering how the payment from the stimulus check will affect their eligibility.

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You Can Now Meet With Your Doctor Remotely! Telehealth Coverage Expanded

By Andrea Jakob | April 7, 2020
Adult using Computer

As part of its response to the coronavirus pandemic, the federal government is broadly expanding coverage of Medicare telehealth services to beneficiaries and relaxing HIPAA enforcement. This will give doctors the ability to provide more services to patients remotely.

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Whatever Happened to “The Reading of the Will?”

By Andrea Jakob | April 3, 2020
Reading the will painting by Erdmann

Many movies and television shows have a scene where a family gathers around a big table after a relative has died to listen to the reading of the will. While this makes for a dramatic scene, one that may have been more common when literacy rates were lower, it doesn’t usually happen this way in the modern world.

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Why You Should Reevaluate Your Estate Plan Now

By Andrea Jakob | April 3, 2020
face mask

Unfortunately, this global health crisis can affect all aspects of your life. You should make sure you have these essential documents in place to protect yourself and your family

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“Leave A Legacy, Not A Mess”

Emerald Publications – September, 2007

Get The Ultimate Life Organizer

There's a lot to think about when you're collecting information for your estate plan. Download our free 17 page Complete Life Organizer and make sure you have everything covered!

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