San Luis Obispo Estate Planning Lawyers

Knowing that your estate and your wishes are protected by legal experts specializing in estate planning in San Luis Obispo can give you peace of mind. A properly designed estate plan should provide you with the documents needed to:

1. Avoid a prolonged, unnecessary court action (probate) to have your assets transferred in an effective and efficient manner to the person(s) or charities of your choice;
2. Make sure the person(s) you most trust are named to handle your health and finances in the event you are incapacitated or following your demise;
3. Provide those persons with flexibility not allowed in a probate action; and
4. Make sure your assets are transferred according to your wishes and not those of the state.

Not only will you receive a trust that is tailored to your specific needs by attorneys specializing in estate planning in San Luis Obispo, but you will also receive the appropriate Powers of Attorney for the management of finances and your health care needs and a detailed review of your assets to make sure your plan covers all of your personal and real property, not just those that would be placed in a trust.

For example, we look at the beneficiary designations on your IRAs and 401(k) accounts, your insurance policies, annuities, pay-on-death accounts, and joint tenancy assets so that all of your assets, regardless of how held, pass to your beneficiaries in a coordinated and cost-effective manner.

Toews Bio & Abram, Inc. provides assistance and detailed instruction in the transferring and retitling of assets as well as the preparation of deeds and assignments to your trust to make sure the title to all assets is properly held in your trust.

Drafts of estate plans are usually provided to our clients within 10 business days (or sooner if there is urgency) after being hired. After our clients review their drafts and any changes are made, a signing can usually be scheduled as quickly as their schedules allow.

We do not charge for the initial interview and at the end of your first meeting, our attorneys will provide you with a flat or estimated fee for most estate plans.

A typical estate plan for a married couple which requires a trust will cost around $3,000. The estimate covers (1) preparation of a joint revocable trust, (2) preparation of wills, durable powers of attorney and advance health care directives, (3) review of beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, insurance and other assets that will or may pass outside of the trust and outside of the probate estate, and (4) any transfer documentation (deeds, assignments, etc.) which are necessary to complete the funding of the revocable trust. We accept all major credit cards and do not bill you until after you have been provided with drafts of your documents.

To learn more about our approach to estate plan design, please read J. Christopher Toews’ article “Client Driven Estate Planning” published by the State Bar of California, Trusts and Estates Quarterly (Summer 2003) Click here to download article