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Why Wait To Put justifications, ask yourself: why wait? Although an estate plan is
one of the most effective and important ways you can plan for the
future, it is also one of the easiest.
Your Plans in Place? A comprehensive plan includes: (1) a Trust: the instrument that

The importance of “holds title” to and protects your real property and significant as-
sets from probate and provides for your intended distributions of
that property; (2) a Last Will and Testament: the instrument that
creating your estate distributes your personal property and effects such as jewelry,
furniture and family heirlooms; (3) a Durable Power of Attorney: the
plan now! document which appoints a nominated person to deal with your
finances in the event of your incapacity; and (4) an Advance Health
Care Directive: the document that contains your wishes regarding
medical treatment and disposition of your remains after your death.
By: Attorney Rebecca Briskin, Bolander Law Group
One of the most
critical features of a
well-drafted estate
plan is the contingen-
cies it contains. Ide-
ally, your estate plan
should anticipate and
accommodate any
number of events
before and after your
death. With the right
contingencies in
place, many estate
plans don’t need
to be continually
updated when new
property is acquired,
when a child is born
or when a beneficiary
48 dies. However, there
are circumstances
when an estate plan
does need to be
updated, or in legal
speak, “amended.”
These are typically
straight forward and
don’t require an
entire “re-writing” of
your documents.
As most of us know, an estate plan allows us to provide for the
passage of our property after death, affords immediate and future The first step to creating your estate plan is finding the right attor-
tax benefits and, most importantly, allows us to avoid probate – a ney. In San Diego County, there are numerous firms that specialize
legal process that is both time-consuming and expensive. Probate in estate planning as well as other probate-related matters. The
is required when an individual dies, with or without a will, owning Attorney Referral Service is a great place to start and can be ac-
real property in excess of $50,000 and/or personal property in cessed online at www.lawreferral.org.
excess of $150,000. The task of “administering” an estate through
probate is not only costly, but time intensive and often stressful for Once you’ve found an attorney that you’re comfortable with, an
the surviving family members tasked with initiating the proceed- initial meeting ordinarily takes place in order to review your assets,
ings. Aside from time and financial considerations, probate cases discuss your donative intent and explore who you want to handle
are a matter of public record, allowing anyone and everyone your estate after you pass on. Based on this information, a plan
(including creditors) to view information about the estate, its value, can be created quickly and conveniently with drafts for you to re-
and the assets the decedent owned at death. Probate also opens view within a few weeks. A final meeting is then scheduled to sign
the door to litigation in families with strained relationships. The and notarize your documents. Overall, creating an estate plan is
bottom line: probate is a place to stay far, far away from and the a quick and painless process. However, its importance cannot be
best way to do that is to have a solid estate plan, including a trust, understated. Simply put: Why wait to put your plans in place?
in place.
For readers of San Diego Woman Magazine, Bolander Law Group
What you may not know about an estate plan is that you can and is offering a complimentary consultation to anyone interested in
should establish one now. All individuals, whether married, single establishing an estate plan: Must call before August 31, 2013.
or divorced, with or without children, can create an effective estate
plan to take advantage of the benefits described above. Often- For more information on Bolander Law Group and Attorney Briskin,
times, planning for the future is put off until marriage, until buying please visit www.BolanderLawGroup.com
a home or until starting a family – if you’ve ever considered these