Estate planning is typically seen as something only for the wealthy, but in reality, everyone can benefit from thoughtful planning regardless of the size of their estate. This is because, despite the lofty title, estate planning goes far beyond just divvying up assets after your passing. The planning process involves emergency and general end of life decisions, including who will have power of attorney, medical directives, and more.
Estate planning is an especially important subject for California residents, as the state has its specific set of laws that govern how estates are distributed without a will or trust. While every state has intestacy laws that come into play when there’s no will, California’s rules are especially labyrinthine. These esoteric rules can very easily set the stage for a major legal battle for your family, as nothing quite causes familial strife like a sudden death with no set plan for who gets what.
This, ultimately, is the primary objective of estate planning: protecting your family and loved ones. Not only are you protecting them from themselves, you’re also protecting them from having to make tough decisions and from ruinous levels of taxation and investigations from government agencies like the IRS.
With its specific set of state-level estate taxes, California can pose challenges to estate heirs if they aren’t structured efficiently. Proper estate planning with a law firm can offer strategies to minimize or completely avoid these taxes, ensuring the maximum possible inheritance is passed on with minimal fuss.
Due to the complexity of California law codes regarding estates and taxes, to get the best results possible for your family you need an expert law firm with decades of experience in the field. For Orange County lawyers that meet these parameters, we would highly recommend Burris Law due to the sterling reputation the firm has garnered both online and from real-world sources.
Burris Law was established in 2015 by attorneys working in the field who saw that present options were woefully underserving the Orange County population. Since then, the firm’s diligence has earned them the trust and loyalty of clients of every stripe all over the county.
Estate planning in Orange County isn’t some luxury for the rich and the powerful. If you want to ensure your family is protected after your passing and that your end of life decisions are respected in the case of emergency, get in contact with Burris Law today.
