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Law Office of Janet L. Brewer 2501 Park Boulevard Suite 100 Palo Alto, CA 94306-1606
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Here is another example (adding to the one in my last post and pulled from several in my newest guide) of a person with relatively complex financial circumstances, who would benefit from hiring an experienced estate planning attorney.
Meet Edna, mother of four with a $7M family home in Portola Valley
Edna wants all four of her children to share equally in her estate. But she wants her son to have the $7 million family home.
An experienced estate planning attorney will recognize some of the pitfalls in that scenario, such as the financial burden of taking over a mortgage and property taxes on an expensive home.
Unless Edna has a $28MM estate, after estate taxes she’s not going to be able to give one son the home and treat the other 3 children equally ($7MM x 4 = $28MM) – unless:
The planner also will talk to Edna to find out how each of the children handle money, making sure that the plan specifies ways to distribute the estate that help each child do his or her best.
There is a great deal that must be considered in situations like this. Fortunately, Edna carefully chose the right estate planning attorney. That meant making an investment, since top shelf legal guidance is not cheap. But she gained the peace of mind that comes with knowing that distributions from her estate will help her children.
Getting a plan tailored to your needs
Edna is a made up person. But if your circumstances are anything like hers, I do recommend that you retain an attorney familiar with helping families protect their assets and do advanced estate planning.
Here are guides I've published that might help you:
All the best, Follow @calprobatenews
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