Estate planning is a complicated process. Consulting a lawyer regarding estate planning is the best strategy for ensuring that your beneficiaries are well taken care of and that your final wishes are carried out. Your lawyer in Tracy at Bakeirnk, McCusker & Belden can offer guidance regarding minimizing your heirs’ tax burden and ensuring that certain funds support your preferred purpose, among other estate planning strategies.

Consider Creating a Trust

You probably already know that you can be as specific as you wish in your will. You can choose to pass on your collection of vintage bottles to your favorite niece, for example, or to give your nephew your car. However, when you designate assets to beneficiaries in your will , you cannot control how your beneficiaries will choose to spend those assets. If you have particularly young beneficiaries who may not necessarily be given to making sound financial decisions, your lawyer may recommend that you create a trust. You can choose to create a trust with funds that are earmarked specifically for your child’s college expenses, for example. You can designate a trustee to administer these assets after your passing. Your trustee will be legally required to make sure that your assets are only used in the manner in which you intended.

Employ Tax Minimization Strategies

By consulting a lawyer with regard to estate planning, you can develop strategies to minimize the tax burden for your beneficiaries. Estate and income tax can significantly reduce the amount that your heirs will receive after your passing. You can ensure that they are taken care of by designating tax-free funds to your heirs and leaving taxable assets to charities, if you wish. An example of a tax-free account is a Roth retirement account.

Purchase Life Insurance

Another way to reduce your heirs’ income tax and estate tax burden is by purchasing life insurance. Life insurance is not taxable on the state or federal level. This means that your estate would receive the full amount of life insurance. If your lawyer estimates that your beneficiaries might be required to pay $300,000 in taxes, for example, you could purchase a life insurance policy for that full amount to eliminate their tax burden.

Estate planning is crucial for everyone, regardless of the extent of your assets and liabilities. By working with a lawyer in Tracy at Bakerink, McCusker & Belden, you can protect your estate for your heirs . If you die intestate, or without a valid will, your assets will be divided according to state laws, regardless of what your wishes may have been. If the court cannot determine who the proper heirs may be, the state can simply seize your assets, leaving your preferred beneficiaries with nothing.

You can hear more about the importance of estate planning by watching this video. This financial advisor discusses the benefits of working with an estate planning lawyer from a tax standpoint and explains some of the financial documents you should have in order.

Many individuals delay estate planning in Tracy because it involves end-of-life issues. However, regardless of your age or health, it’s always in your family’s best interests to consult an estate planning lawyer sooner, rather than later. Unexpected tragedies occur all too often; by dealing with these matters promptly, you can ensure that your family’s financial future is protected in the event of your passing. When you meet with an attorney to address matters such as your last will and testament, you’ll need to consider the following factors.

Evaluate Your Financial Situation

After scheduling a meeting with an estate planning lawyer, it’s time to gather together important financial documents. Review all of your financial information to determine the total value of your assets, and your current and anticipated cash flow. Compare your cash flow and assets to your total liabilities to determine your net worth. Consider other factors that may affect your finances in the future, such as the rising cost of living, your retirement or your spouse’s retirement, and unexpected, yet significant expenses, such as those related to a major illness. By understanding your particular financial situation, your estate planning lawyer can help you develop a sound financial plan for the future and for your heirs.

Consider Your Beneficiaries’ Needs

When you create a will with the help of your estate planning attorney, you’ll designate beneficiaries for your assets . You’ll also designate beneficiaries for your life insurance policy, retirement accounts, and similar accounts. It’s entirely your decision as to how to divide your estate among your family members, friends, or charitable organizations. However, when designating beneficiaries, you should consider their future needs and their spending habits. Many individuals earmark funds in a trust to cover specific expenditures, such as college tuition or special needs expenses.

Reduce Your Taxable Estate

Estate and income taxes can take a significant portion of the assets you allot to your beneficiaries. Your estate planning lawyer can help you develop efficient strategies to minimize tax obligations. You might also consider purchasing a life insurance policy that will cover the estate tax your heirs will owe.

Trusts are often formed during estate planning . A trustee is designated to handle the assets within the trust. Trustees have a responsibility to protect the interests of the beneficiaries, safeguard the assets held within the trust, and administer the trust in a way that is consistent with the decedent’s final wishes. Trust administration is a highly complex process that must be performed in accordance with estate planning laws. It is highly recommended that designated trustees seek the counsel of a lawyer in Tracy at Bakerink, McCusker & Belden who can help them fulfill their duties.

A lawyer can help you identify the financial documents and other information you need to compile in the wake of the death. You’ll also need to stay in close contact with the executor of the individual’s estate because the executor may transfer non-trust assets to the trust. Your lawyer can help you locate the will and file it with your local probate court, make the necessary notifications of the death, and notify the beneficiaries. Then, you’ll need to complete an array of other tasks associated with trust administration, such as reviewing trust investments and paying off debts.

Estate planning is a wise decision for all adults, no matter their age. Estate planning in California or elsewhere in the country involves designating your assets to beneficiaries, to be paid upon your passing. A lawyer in Tracy can help you with the estate planning process and answer any questions you may have.

Who Requires Estate Planning?

It’s a common misconception that an individual should only consult a lawyer about his or her estate if significant wealth is involved or if a serious medical diagnosis has recently been made. In fact, all adults should work with a lawyer to address these matters before there is an urgent need to do so.

What Does Estate Planning Involve?

There are many facets to estate planning. Your attorney can draw up a last will and testament to specify which beneficiary should receive which of your assets. You can specify beneficiaries for any assets you have—ranging from life insurance benefits to retirement accounts to jewelry. Estate planning also involves designating who will handle matters after your death , such as paying your final debts and distributing the assets. With estate planning, you can make your final wishes known with regard to burial options. Additionally, your lawyer can walk you through the process of deciding who will care for minor children. Under California law, should you pass before all of your children have reached the age of 18, they are legally unable to care for themselves and manage their own property. You’ll need to appoint a guardian to do so. Your lawyer may recommend establishing a trust for minor children.

Who Should Be My Executor?

The executor of your will is an individual who is responsible for ensuring that your wishes are carried out and your assets distributed according to the will. Your executor should be organized, efficient, and capable of handling these matters. Many people designate their spouse to serve as executor.

Do I Need a Living Will?

Estate planning also involves creating a living will, or an advance directive. This is a legal document that specifies your wishes with regard to healthcare decisions in the event that you become incapacitated. For example, you may specify whether you wish resuscitation efforts to be made. With help from your attorney, you’ll designate a healthcare proxy to execute your living will.

You work hard to ensure that your employer succeeds. If you suffer an injury while performing your normal job duties, you deserve to be taken care of while you recover. Many Californians who are injured on the job are entitled to workers’ compensation—if you are denied workers’ compensation, or if you believe that your injuries were caused by negligence, consider hiring a Tracy lawyer .

Seek Medical Attention

Depending on the severity of your injury, you may choose to seek medical attention immediately or at your earliest convenience. Regardless, it’s important to visit a doctor soon after the incident, as waiting too long could cause your injury to get much worse. During the examination, be sure to tell your doctor that you suffered your injury at work.

Notify Your Employer

Notify your employer of the incident as soon as you are able. If you wait more than 30 days after the date of the incident, you may forfeit your right to receive workers’ compensation. Some injuries occur gradually—if this is the case, inform your employer as soon as you suspect a job-related injury.

Analyze the Incident

If all goes well, you should begin receiving your workers’ compensation benefits within a few weeks. However, you might find that this compensation isn’t enough. Consider analyzing the circumstances surrounding your injury—if you detect any evidence of negligence, you might file a personal injury claim against your employer.

Hire an Attorney

There are a lot of potential complications surrounding work injuries . For example, your employer’s insurance company may deny you benefits based on something you said. If you are subjected to hard questioning, or if something seems amiss with your compensation benefits, consider hiring an attorney. A skilled lawyer can also help you investigate the circumstances of your injury and help you determine whether to pursue a personal injury claim.

It’s important to make sure your loved ones are taken care of in case something happens to you. Careful estate planning can ensure that your wishes are carried out when you are unable to carry them out yourself.

In this video, an estate planning expert outlines a checklist of important actions to take while you are still of sound body and mind. First, it’s important to make sure your own health is taken care of—you can do this by signing an advance directive, or medical power of attorney. An advance directive outlines your specific healthcare wishes in the event of an accident or illness that leaves you incapacitated. Next, it’s important to have a financial power of attorney or living trust in place to ensure that your finances are properly distributed in the event of your death. A Tracy estate planning attorney can help with all these matters.

A skilled lawyer can help you handle a number of complicated aspects of life. Whether you’re looking to plan your estate or hold another individual legally responsible for your injuries, it’s a good idea to hire an attorney. However, not just any lawyer will do—you need to find a skilled attorney who can adequately represent your interests. Here are a few factors to consider when hiring a Tracy lawyer .

Specialty

It’s impossible for any one person to have comprehensive knowledge of all facets of the law. When hiring an attorney, it’s important to look for depth, not breadth. If you need to draw up a living will, for example, an attorney who focuses on estate planning will serve your needs better than a lawyer who works primarily in criminal defense. The more focused your attorney is, the better equipped he will be to assist you.

Experience

As with any other field, experience is very important when it comes to law. An attorney who’s been around for a few decades is likely to achieve a better result than someone who is just getting started. Generally speaking, an experienced attorney will have a much better understanding of how court proceedings go and how to avoid common mistakes.

Reviews

Experience alone may not be enough—it’s also important to ensure that your lawyer is actually good at what he does. The internet is an excellent tool for finding attorneys and evaluating their past performance. When browsing a lawyer’s website, consider looking for a “reviews” section that features testimony from past clients. If the attorney has done a good job in the past, there’s a good chance he’ll do a good job for you, too.

Success Rate

Going in for an initial consultation is great for gauging your attorney’s personality and asking direct questions about his expertise. During the consultation, you might ask the attorney about his recent cases and overall success rate. If the attorney has won many cases that are similar to your own, he could be the right attorney for you .

Your personal injury lawyer serving Tracy will work closely with you to thoroughly investigate all aspects of your case. To win a personal injury case on the basis of negligence, your injury lawyer will need to prove a few basic principles in court. First, your lawyer will demonstrate that your actions at the time of the incident were reasonable and that you were exercising caution. In other words, your personal injury lawyer will demonstrate that you were not at fault for the incident that caused your injuries.

Second, the attorney will prepare a reasonable argument and show evidence that demonstrates that the defendant was negligent in some manner. The defendant may have maintained hazardous conditions that led to a slip and fall incident, for example, or the defendant may have been driving recklessly when he or she struck your car. In some cases, a personal injury lawyer may concede comparative negligence. That is, you may have been partially responsible for the incident, yet the defendant carried the majority of the blame. For example, if you are determined to have been 20 percent responsible for the incident, you may be entitled to 80 percent of the compensatory damages.

A vicious dog can inflict serious damage on an individual. In addition to the physical harm and recuperation, a victim of a dog attack will likely face medical bills, property damage, lost wages, and other losses. If your or a loved one was the victim of a dog attack, look for personal injury lawyers in Tracy who have experience with these types of cases. Your personal injury lawyer can help you understand the applicable California laws. Your attorney may also file a claim on your behalf to help you recover compensation for your losses.

Strict Liability

California has a strict liability statute regarding dog bite cases. This statute can be found under California Civil Code section 3342. Strict liability is essentially a zero tolerance policy toward dog attacks. This means that an owner may be held liable for bites regardless of the dog’s prior history. Even if the dog is not known to be dangerous and has never bitten anyone else, the owner may accountable for your losses. This is in contrast to other states with a “one bite” rule, which only hold the owner liable if the dog was previously known to attack or otherwise exhibit dangerous behavior.

Negligence

Your injury lawyer may file a claim against the owner on the basis of negligence. Dog owners are required to take reasonable actions to prevent their dogs from attacking others . For example, a lawyer could argue that an owner is negligent for failing to confine the dog within the home or yard, or for failing to use a leash when walking the dog.

Exceptions

There are a few exceptions to holding an owner liable for a dog attack. Your injury lawyer will evaluate the specifics of your case to determine if it may fall under one of these exceptions. For example, you may not hold the owner liable if the dog was being used by the police, military, or other government agency during an investigation. If you are considered an unlawful trespasser onto a dog owner’s property, you may not hold that person liable for an attack. Additionally, the dog owner may claim that he or she forewarned you about the potential dangers of interacting with the dog. If you did so despite these warnings, you may not be able to hold the owner liable for your injuries.