California Estate Planning Attorney

Knowledgeable California Estate Planning Attorney Assists Families with Protecting and Passing on Assets and Wealth in Sacramento County, El Dorado County, Placer County, Solano County, Yolo County, and Throughout CA

After you’ve worked hard your entire life to build up wealth, including in real estate, business interests, or stocks and securities, you may want to pass on your success to your family and heirs. Careful estate planning can help you preserve your assets from tax liabilities and ensure that they are passed on after your death as efficiently as possible. An experienced California estate planning attorney can work with you to craft an effective estate plan.

At Cianchetta & Associates, we strive to offer client-focused, quality legal representation to each of our clients. We take the time to customize legal strategies and solutions for each client’s circumstances. We want to be a resource to help you with your legal needs and problems now and in the future. 

If you have questions about setting up an estate plan for yourself or your family, reach out to us today for an initial consultation to speak with a California estate planning attorney from our firm about how our firm can help you to prepare an effective estate plan that will allow you to preserve and pass on the wealth you have built. 

Estate Planning Tools That We May Use in Preparing Your Estate Plan

There are various tools that people can take advantage of as part of an effective estate plan. The suitability of an estate planning tool will depend on the value of your assets and your estate planning goals. Commonly used estate planning tools include:

• Wills – Also known as a “last will and testament”, a will is a document that allows you to direct how your assets are to be distributed or disposed of following your passing. In a will, you can nominate someone to serve as the “executor” of your estate; they will be responsible for gathering your assets after your death and paying your outstanding debts and distributing your remaining estate. Your will also names one or more people (called beneficiaries) who will inherit your assets; you can even designate specific assets to be distributed to specific beneficiaries.
• Trusts – A trust is a legal structure that holds title and ownership of assets on behalf of beneficiaries of a trust. Living trusts represent a popular estate planning tool. With a trust, you can place your assets into the trust and continue to control and benefit from your wealth during your life. Upon your passing, your trust can be used to pass your wealth onto your beneficiaries and heirs. Depending on how you structure your trust, you also may be able to pass on your wealth while avoiding the time and expense of probate or certain taxes. 
• Beneficiary designations – If you have certain financial accounts and products, including savings accounts, brokerage accounts, or pension accounts, you can ensure that the assets in those accounts go directly to your loved ones by adding beneficiary designations to those accounts. Beneficiary designations may include “transfer-on-death” or “payable-on-death”.
• Life insurance – You can also ensure that you leave financial assets for your loved ones by purchasing life insurance.
• Power of attorney – A power of attorney is a document in which you authorize someone to make legal or medical decisions on your behalf if you are incapacitated or are legally deemed incapable of making those decisions yourself. 
• Living will/healthcare directive – A advance/healthcare directive, also sometimes called a living will, is a document that allows you to inform your family about how you want end-of-life medical decisions to be made, in case you cannot communicate those decisions yourself. 

How a California Estate Planning Attorney from Cianchetta & Associates Can Assist You with Your Matter

When you turn to a California estate planning attorney from our firm, you can expect that we will:

• Take the time to review your personal, family, and financial situation, and to sit down with you to discuss your estate planning goals.
• Advise you as to estate planning tools that will help you achieve your desired objectives.
• Prepare and help you execute the necessary legal documents for your estate plan, including drafting wills, trust documents, and powers of attorney. 
• Be there to review and revise your estate plan as you experiences changes to your life, such as marriage or divorce, having children and grandchildren, or experiencing substantial success in your profession or business. 

Contact Us for a Consultation to Beginning the Estate Planning Process for You and Your Family

When you want to protect the hard work and wealth that you have built up so that you can pass it on to your loved ones, turn to a California estate planning attorney from Cianchetta & Associates for an initial case evaluation to learn more about your options for putting together an effective estate plan for you and your family. 

Frequently Asked Questions about Estate Planning in California