Experienced Carlsbad attorney advises on legacy matters

A comprehensive estate plan allows you to protect your family, property, and final wishes. At Gilliland Law, APC, I focus on helping clients leave lasting legacies by providing hands-on, experienced estate planning guidance for clients with wills, trusts and probate. As an experienced trusts and estates attorney, I will carefully assess your personal and financial goals to assist you in crafting a thorough plan. With more than 22 years of experience handling legacy matters, I have an in-depth understanding of the instruments that provide clients with options for safeguarding their assets and loved ones and will provide you with sound advice and direction.

Skilled lawyer helps you draft your will in California

A will expresses your final wishes, so it is an essential part of any estate plan. It allows you to decide what will happen to your property and assets once you pass and which loved ones or organizations will benefit. It also gives you the chance to name a person you trust to administer your estate through probate.

If you die without a will in California, your estate will be divided up based on the state's intestate succession laws rather than your choices. I can help you draft a will that is transparent, accurate, and most of all, lawful. In addition, if you experience any major life events such as a marriage, birth, or death in the family, I can help you modify your will accordingly.

California legacy lawyer helps you choose the right trust for your family

Trusts save families time and money by allowing them to bypass the probate process. A trust is simply an arrangement where a trustee holds title over property for a beneficiary. I primarily focus on creating Revocable living trusts.  This type of trust allows you to designate property to be given to a beneficiary at the time of your death. As the grantor of the trust, you maintain full control over the trust and assets while you're alive.

A good estate plan should safeguard your legacy as well as your assets. I can work closely with you to identify your long-term goals and create a plan custom tailored to suit your needs.

Experienced counselor helps you and your family to avoid the probate process

Probate is the court-ordered process of validating a will or applying state laws when there is no will.  Probate is usually necessary when there are assets that need to be transferred to an heir or there are debts that need to be resolved.   For instance, if someone dies with a personal residence that is in their name, probate would be necessary to determine who has legal authority to transfer that residence to the heirs and if there is a mortgage, who has authority to deal with the lender.  A properly funded living trust can avoid the necessity of probate by transferring the title to your personal residence to the trust while allowing you to retain complete control and ownership.  The savings for this simple step can be thousands of dollars as a residence with a gross value of $500,000 would result in having to pay $13,000 in court ordered fees to the attorney handling the probate.  

Contact a dedicated estate planning attorney in California

Gilliland Law provides knowledgeable advice on wills, probate, trusts, and other estate planning matters. Please call 760-918-5630 or contact me online to schedule a free initial consultation at my Carlsbad office.