Oakland California Trusts & Estates Lawyers

Trusts & Estates Law
Our areas of specialty are indicated in the matrix below.  We will be pleased to refer you to other counsel if your legal needs are outside our areas of expertise.
Trusts & Estates Law		Morton	Lulofs	Wood
	Wills
	Probate Administration
	Probate Litigation
	Estate Planning
	Powers of Attorney
	Health Care Directives
	Conservatorships

The Law Offices of Morton, Lulofs & Wood is a full service Estate Planning Law Office. The experienced Estate Planning lawyers provide Estate Planning solutions to the residents of Oakland and the surrounding areas.

ESTATE PLANNING

Trusts

• Drafting and Administering Trusts
• Revocable Living Trusts
• Grantor Trusts
• Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts
• Charitable Trusts
• Post Mortem Administration of Trusts and Estates
• Contested/Removal Trustees
• Trust Contests
  

• Will Drafting and Counseling
• Will Contests
• Omitted Heirs Contests
• Wills Contests Involving Fraud, Duress and Mental Incapacity
• Living Wills/Health Care or Medical Directives
  

• Probate Estate Administration
• Probate Litigation
  

• Contested Appointments/Removal & Administration of
• Transferring Assets and Income/Medi-Cal Eligibility
  

• Preparation of Federal and State Tax Returns
• Taxation Law
• Tax Planning
• Retirement Planning
• Forming, operating, and dissolving Limited Liability Companies, Partnerships, Corporation, Trusts, and other entities.

Estate Planning Information for California Residents

Contrary to popular belief, Estate Planning involves much more than having a lawyer draft a Trust or a Will. Estate Planning is an ongoing process. Your estate plan should be periodically reviewed so that it accurately reflects changes to your family structure (i.e., marriage, divorce, adoption, etc.), changes to your assets (acquiring new assets, selling off existing assets, etc.), changes to how your assets are to be distributed after your death, and changes in probate and other laws pertaining to the distribution of your assets. It is important to notify your lawyer anytime you experience one of the above-listed changes. While the distribution of your assets upon your death is an important part of your estate plan, effectively planning your estate involves much more than that. Issues that the lawyers at the Law Offices of Morton, Lulofs & Wood frequently take into consideration while planning your estate or drafting a Trust as part of your Estate Plan include the following:

• Develop a plan to minimize estate tax liability and avoid probate as much as possible, as well as preserve and increase the value of your estate enabling you to pass as much of your wealth as possible on to your intended heirs.
• Planning what medical treatment you will receive if you ever become incapacitated to the point that you are unable to communicate your wishes, as well as determining the medical facility which will provide the care and naming the person who will communicate your wishes to physicians and other medical staff.
• Determining who will handle your financial, personal, business and legal affairs if you ever become incapacitated, as well as how your affairs will be dealt with.
• Directing how children and/or other loved ones will be provided for, in the event you are no longer able to provide for them due to your incapacitation or death.
• Drafting and periodically updating your final arrangements document to express your death and burial preferences, as well as setting up a trust fund and/or pre-need plan to pay for them (saving your loved ones from the anguish of having to make these decisions in a bereaved state while financially burdened with the expenses involved).
• Administration of your estate after your death.
  

The above are a few of the many issues that are taken into consideration when you have a Trust or an Estate Plan prepared. The experienced attorneys at the Law Offices of Morton, Lulofs & Wood will help you navigate through the complicated area of Estate Planning and provide you with timely, cost-efficient Estate Planning solutions.