How to protect your real and personal property, avoid probate,
and protect your family and loved ones.

By Alan Lawrence Cohen, Esq.

In recent years, it has become increasingly popular for property owners to prepare a Living Trust and other documents for their estates, but getting around to it may seem to be a very difficult matter and can involve years of delay. Certainly a properly drafted Living Trust and other estate planning documents are as important as insurance for the benefit of one’s family and loved ones. Many people do not want their property tied up in Probate Court before their family or loved ones can receive the property, draining the estate with related attorneys’ fees and court costs and sometimes administration fees. This is what can happen if one does not have a Living Trust, even if one has signed a valid Will.

One of the stumbling blocks involved in preparing one’s affairs is where to get good information regarding the subject, and about how to go about setting up appropriately drafted documents. From my clients, I have learned that many attend lengthy seminars purporting to instruct them in the ways of Living Trusts, but these seminars often do not provide clear information on the subject, and some become more like infomercials pressuring the audience to place their property in questionable investments which would supposedly save taxes which would not have been incurred anyway. Contact this office if you would like to receive a copy of a California State Bar article on the subject, or view online at (Click Here), and read examples of people who were taken advantage of and lost their homes due to such schemes. Some of the people involved are estate or investment planners who are not licensed attorneys and who are prevented by law from providing legal advice.

For your own benefit, you should know that all estates worth $2 million or less are completely free from federal estate tax in 2008 and increases further to $3.5 million until the estate tax is perhaps repealed entirely. Even a $100 million estate can be left completely free of estate taxe to one’s spouse (if he or she is a U.S. citizen), and others inheriting real or personal property can receive a stepped-up tax basis so that capital gains taxes may be completely avoided.

Another difficult scenario is when a person seeks advice in the law offices of an established attorney, but is subject to intimidating tactics and quickly spoken “legalese” which most anyone cannot follow. They may speak of obscure or recent tax benefits that only they may provide for you by their services. In any case, some of these attorneys charge thousands of dollars for their services, can rarely be reached by phone, and can take months to complete the requested service.

Yet another difficult situation is attempting to gain assistance from an independent paralegal. These paralegal companies are often capable of preparing documents, but by law are prevented from offering the smallest amount of legal advice. Realistically, utilizing a paralegal to help you prepare your estate documents can be effective if you have studied the underlying law and procedures involved for a few weeks. Truthfully, most anyone could learn the relevant law if they took the time to carefully read a few current books thoroughly expounding on the subject. Unfortunately, many people feel they just don’t have the time to study additional information, and many of us want things done for us right away with the greatest degree of convenience. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the fees from a paralegal agency for just a Living Trust and a Pour-over or Backup Will often rival or exceed the costs from a reasonably priced attorney.

Often, the price advertised by a law firm or independent paralegal includes only the document listed, and is somewhat misleading as a result. For example, a Living Trust document alone is not enough to set up your estate. Generally, a back-up will, powers of attorney, and new real property deeds are also required.

My firm makes a point of explaining clearly every matter involved in preparing one’s estate planning documents, and providing concise written instructions, along with a checklist for additional information one might like to keep in their portfolio for the benefit of their beneficiaries (those who are to receive the property at death). All consultations are provided by a California licensed attorney, not a paralegal or legal assistant, and unlimited office and telephone consultations are included. These services are performed at a reasonable price ($1,200.00 flat fee for a complete Living Trust Portfolio). Clients residing outside the state of California may utilize the complete Living Trust Portfolio preparation service, not including specific legal advice.

The attorney is a graduate of Loyola Law School and the University of Southern California, belongs to the State Bar Wills, Trusts, and Estates section, and has received awards from various legal organizations including the State Bar of California.

It is important to have confidence in the people and organization you are using to prepare your Living Trust and other estate documents, whether online, by telephone, or in person. Your confidential and personal information should be provided to a trustworthy source only. This is why we provide verifiable information regarding our law firm. You should know that the Attorney has spent over eight years in college, four of which studying law exclusively. He has passed the California Bar Exam the first time, which is considered the most difficult Bar Exam in the nation. He has focused his entire practice on preparing Living Trust Portfolios since 2000. You can check his education, license status, and other positive statistics, online at (Click Here), at the California State Bar member website.

It is important to mention these things, because many times internet businessmen set up sites which exist only for you to input your most important personal and confidential information in the context of generating legal documents via an automatic computer system. Generally, it is not possible to reach someone by telephone, only by email, or P.O. Box, and it is questionable if the operators have had any legal training at all, or if they could be reached in an important or difficult situation.

We only do business by telephone or office visits, with all consultations directly with the attorney. You can always call us with questions. We guard your confidential information the way we do all of our clients in the law firm. And we provide the experience and resources to do a great job for you. Virtually every one of our clients have been quite happy with the Living Trust Portfolio we provide.

We operate out of beautiful offices in Santa Monica, California, and are truly accountable, as we are here doing business every day. Make an appointment to have an office visit sometime. We feel that we provide a steady base to conveniently prepare your documents in a very organized and straightforward manner.

Most importantly, in addition to making a living, the attorney is sincerely assisting people in handling a very important aspect of their lives in a straightforward and organized manner. And these qualities are more valuable than anything else to someone seeking to prepare their estate documents.

Santa Monica Probate Law and Alan Lawrence Cohen, Attorney are located in Santa Monica, California, and the toll free number is (866) WILL-LAW, or (310) 319-9199. Feel free to call if you would like to set up an appointment, or have any questions. Detailed information is available on the telephone system on a 24 hour basis.