Estate Planning Attorney in Los Angeles, California

Living Trusts

It takes a lifetime to build up your assets. With the current transfer of assets from the War generation to the Baby Boomers, the United States is undergoing the largest transfer of wealth from one generation to another in the history of the world. As the first Baby Boomers are reaching their retirement age, it's more and more important that they protect their assets, minimize their estate tax liabilities, and save on legal expenses.

This is why proper estate planning is so essential to almost everyone. Because the future is unpredictable despite our best intentions, it's never too early to start planning what will happen to your estate. At our California estate planning law offices, we proudly serve clients in Irvine, La Palma, San Marino, Cerritos, and throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties. We're prepared to help our clients minimize their estate tax liability and expenses by setting up a living trust.

By setting up the proper trusts and wills, we can minimize our clients' tax liability and help them avoid probate, ensuring that our clients' heirs will benefit from the estate they have worked so diligently to build up.

At the Law Offices of W. Steven Chou, we can assist you in legal matters regarding:

Living Trusts

We will help you set up a living trust to avoid the expenses and hassles of probate. Probate can be time consuming and expensive. Further, a living can help your estate minimize or even avoid estate taxes in some cases. Most people mistakenly believe that if they have already had a will set up, they can avoid probate. However, the exact opposite is true. California probate laws mandate that if a person has only a will at the time of death, his or her estate has to be probated through the court if the estate's combined value is $150,000 or more. Therefore, a living trust is the best way to make sure that the estate does not have to be probated.

Wills

If you wish to set up a will either alone or along with a living trust, we can help you set it up. A will can help ensure that your intention for your estate is carried out.

Advance Health Care Directive (Living Will)

We will draft your advance health care directive for you based on your desires so that if the need ever arises, you will be assured that someone will be there to take care of your health care needs. Further, by having your wishes and intentions written down, you can be sure that they will be carried out without any questions or complications. With this document prepared for you, your loved ones will not need to make any guesses as to your wish or to seek a probate conservatorship through the court which is very time consuming and expensive.

Durable Power of Attorney (for Business Management and Personal Affairs)

We will draft your power of attorney for you so that your personal and business affairs can be carried on even if you are not capable of doing so anymore. With this document prepared for you, your loved ones will not need to seek a probate conservatorship through the court which is very time consuming and expensive.

Same-Sex Marriage and Domestic Partnership Estate Planning

Due to recent changes in the laws of the State of California, the state now takes into consideration that different people have different lives so that not everyone has the same living arrangement. Because of this, gay and lesbian couples and individuals in domestic partnership unions can now enjoy the same kind of estate planning that was available to heterosexual married couples only. We can help Los Angeles same-sex and domestic partnership couples plan their estates together.

Asset Protection

We can help our clients protect their hard-earned assets and/or businesses by using vehicles such as family limited partnership, family limited liability company, or other business organizations to shield our clients' assets from risks. Further, using a business organization can help in planning your estate and pass on your assets to your heirs.

Professional Counsel on Your Estate Plan

We've spent over 20 years helping individuals in La Palma, San Marino, Irvine, and Cerritos, California-as well as Los Angeles and Orange counties-plan the future of their estates. If you're in the Los Angeles area, contact us today for a free phone or in-person consultation.