What’s The Difference Between A Will, A Living Will And A Living Trust?

A WILL is a legal document created by someone to express their wishes regarding the distribution of their assets after their death.  An executor is named, whose job it is to distribute the assets to the beneficiaries according to what is stated in the will. If the value of the assets is significant, a probate will be required to legally transfer the assets to the beneficiaries.  In a will, a guardian can be named for the care of the minor children, if one is needed. A will is a fairly simple document that can be revised as circumstances change.

A LIVING […]

By |Estate Planning, Living Trusts, Wills|
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Documents Everyone Should Have in their Fire Proof Safe

What causes the biggest headache when it’s time to settle an estate and distribute assets? The answer is when important documents can’t be found. Trying to locate important papers, organize them, and sometimes complete them creates an extreme burden, the process to slow down and a unnecessary frustration. A difficult time is made much worse by the lack of pre-planning. It’s great when steps were taken to keep the matter outside of a courtroom, but it’s even better when everything is in one place to be handled efficiently. A bank safe deposit box or a fire proof safe are excellent […]

By |Deeds, Estate Planning, Living Trusts, Wills|
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Mom Died. Now What? – Just Doc Prep’s Probate Service 2013 Year End Review

The year 2013 gave us more opportunity than ever before to help consumers and attorneys get through their probate cases as smoothly and quickly as possible. In almost every case, the presiding judge in various courts, complimented our clients on the quality of our paperwork.

After interviewing other legal document assistants and attorneys, J.T. of Orange County hired us to help him prepare the paperwork on a simple probate. He was amazed at how quickly he was able to get into court and how smoothly his case went. On the morning of his hearing, he was the 22nd case to come […]

By |Death & Property, Estate Planning, Probate, Wills|
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The Tale Of The Unnamed Spouse

Many people understand the importance of reviewing their living trust, wills and other estate planning documents after a divorce. But how many people don’t think about it before they get married? Just because a spouse isn’t named as a beneficiary, doesn’t mean they’re not entitled to part of the estate. I recently came into contact with someone who needed help with their sister’s probate. The deceased sister prepared a will, then later got married and did nothing to update her will or estate plan. When she died, not too long after her marriage, her siblings who were her beneficiaries in […]

By |Death & Property, Estate Planning, Probate, Wills|
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Transferring Real Estate – A Simple Deed or a Costly Mistake?

There are so many reasons to get professional tax advice before adding someone to a deed or transferring real property outright. There can be serious and costly consequences. Yet so many people just won’t take the time to seek the information or get the advice. When someone comes in to our office to have a deed prepared, we’d like to be sure that they know what they’re doing. Because we prepare legal documents under our client’s specific direction and are not tax professionals, we can’t counsel on these matters, except to encourage them to get advice on legal and financial […]

By |Deeds, Estate Planning, Property Transfers, Wills|
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