"Put not your trust in money, but put your money in trust."
-Oliver Wendell Holmes
de Jesus Law Group is experienced at administering estates, trusts, wills, and probate. We work with the family and other advisors to transfer assets as quickly as possible, resolve outstanding issues, and ensure that all legal requirements are satisfied within the legal deadlines to ensure smooth administration of trusts for your heirs. Our team will make the process as easy as possible for you and your family.
We will accomplish the following as needed, without delay and with respect for your privacy and your family relationships:
- Identification, collection, and determination of assets and values;
- Guidance on payment of debts, expenses, and taxes from estate and trust assets;
- Submission of necessary accountings;
- Advice as to distribution of jointly held assets, life insurance, and retirement benefits that pass outside a will or trust;
- Notifying all heirs and beneficiaries of the trust;
- Guidance on whether state and federal, generation-skipping transfer, and gift tax returns need to be filed
Estate Planning
Many times when people think of estate planning they think of a will or life insurance plan or even employer benefits someone would receive upon your death. Estate planning is much more than that. It’s a comprehensive plan that addresses all types of contingencies from your disability, incapacity, illness and death and what would happen in each of those circumstances.
- Legal Life Planning
- Kids Protection Plan
- Special Needs Trust
- Asset Protection
probate
When someone dies, they are either intestate (meaning they do not have a Last Will & Testament) or testate (in which case they do have a Will). In either situation, their estate must go through probate. During probate, there is a specific procedure to determine if a Will is valid and if no Will is present the courts will determine the allocation of assets.
Typically, the process of probate causes conflict between loved ones because it is expensive, timely and open to the public. However, there are ways through estate planning that can avoid the probate process.
Trust Administration
The main difference between trust administration and probate is that trust administration is not a court-supervised process. When a person dies, leaving a valid trust, a trust administration becomes necessary to carry out the wishes according to provisions outlined in the trust document. You’ll want to have an attorney representing your trustee so they are protected from liabilities. Attorneys know what kinds of notices to send to beneficiaries and what kinds of consents to get from them so that nothing pops up down the road that will cause a liability for the trustee and get them in trouble for not following through on something.
