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Choosing an estate planning attorney in California can be confusing, particularly if you’ve never hired a lawyer before. In order to help make this decision a little easier for you, we’ve compiled the following tips to help get you started.

Do you want to begin the estate planning process in California, but don’t know where to start? Don’t worry! At the Law Office of Rodney Gould, we know that the estate planning process can be complicated. But as an experienced lawyer, Rodney Gould, is happy to answer any questions you have.

An often overlooked, yet very important part, of estate planning is incapacity planning. There may come a time when you become incapacitated and are unable to communicate. It doesn’t matter what your age or health may be. Accidents happen and sudden illnesses develop. Put a plan in place now so that, should you ever become incapacitated, your loved ones and doctors will be clear on your wishes.

Estate planning is important on so many levels. It is far too easy to keep putting it off. It involves facing some difficult choices and confronting some potentially unpleasant situations such as death or incapacitation. Failure to properly plan for your future, your family’s future, and your estate’s future, however, can have dire consequences.

Probate is a notoriously lengthy and often expensive process. In the estate planning process, many people look to either eliminate the need for their estate to go through probate or at least minimize the things that will be subject to probate. In California, certain estates deemed to be “small estates” have the option of going through a simplified process for settling an estate.

Qualified Personal Residence Trusts are not used very often anymore, but they are still good to be aware of. This type of trust may be something you want to consider during the estate planning process. It is also a type of trust that you may have to deal with if your parents or grandparents set one up.

Probate is the court-supervised legal process of settling a person’s estate after their death. This includes the appointment of someone, the executor, to pay all the debts of the estate and transfer the property of the deceased to his or her heirs. It can be a lengthy and expensive process.

Inheritance tax is a widely misunderstood topic, partially because not all states have such a tax. Generally speaking, inheritance tax is a tax liability on an individual’s inheritance. States with an inheritance tax typically exclude surviving spouses from tax liability, and some states exclude other family members.

Estate planning is a process by which individuals plan for the disposition of their assets, and it is a necessary process for every person who wants to control what happens to his or her estate both before and after death. Wills and trusts are often integral parts of this process.

When looking for an estate planning attorney in California, it’s imperative that you ask the correct questions. By asking prospective California estate planning attorneys good questions, you’ll be in a position to make an informed decision regarding your legal representation.