Mendocino, California Wills Estates and Trusts Attorneys

Wills & Estates Overview and Information

Wills and estates law deals with the disposition, such as through wills and trusts, of all the possessions of one who has died. Assets disposed of through wills are often subject to probate administration supervised by the court and distribution to heirs and beneficiaries. The Uniform Probate Code has been influential in shaping state law in this field. It includes provisions dealing with affairs and estates of the deceased and laws dealing with specified nontestamentary transfers, such as trust creation and administration.

Since many individuals neither set up trusts nor execute wills, state intestate succesion laws are also important. They determine where an individual's assets go upon death in the absence of a will.

Estate planning covers the transfer of property at death as well as a variety of personal matters. Wills and estates lawyers handle a wide variety of legal matters, including, but not limited to:

* Health care directions
* Choosing beneficiaries
* Organ donations
* Care of minor children
* Power of attorney
* Funeral arrangements
* Accounting Actions
* Claims Against Fiduciaries
* Trust Contests and Reformation
* Will Contests
* Will and Trust Construction and Litigation
* Wills and Testamentary Trusts
* Powers of Attorney
* Property Powers of Attorney and Living Wills
* Guardianships
* Revocable Trusts
* Life Insurance Trusts
* Family Limited Partnerships
* Educational Trusts
* Bypass Trusts
* Charitable Remainder Trusts
* Generation-Skipping Trusts
* Business Succession and Insurance Planning
* Medicaid Planning
* Special Needs Trusts
* Gifts to Minors 
* Minimizing Taxes and other Estate Expenses
* Disclaimers and Renunciations