Practice Areas
From their offices in Oakland, the trusts and estates attorneys at the Campbell Law Offices practice throughout the Bay Area, assisting Northern California clients with wills, trusts, and other estate planning, and representing individuals and families in probate litigation, trust administration, guardianships, and conservatorships.
Estate planning involves the creation of wills, trusts, and other mechanisms to achieve a maximum benefit of wealth accumulation, tax minimization, and probate avoidance, while at the same time providing for the disposition of one's estate upon death according to one's wishes. While most people associate estate planning with what happens upon death, estate planning can also include valuable tools for managing one's assets during one's lifetime, providing an important plan in case of future mental or physical incapacity, including management of financial affairs and the direction of medical care, such as important end-of-life decisions that may need to be made. Estate planning can also provide for income and maximization of assets, with the added advantages of asset protection, tax planning, and endowing future generations.
At the Campbell Law Offices, our attorneys look at the big picture and make sure that your estate plan is comprehensive in nature, covering all aspects and addressing all the issues to make sure you and your loved ones are provided for. We provide excellent service at a reasonable cost. Our estate planning practice includes assisting clients with:
- Wills
- Trusts
- Probate
- Living Wills, Advance Directives, Powers of Attorney
- Guardianships
- Conservatorships
Will
The will is the traditional instrument by which a person distributes his or her assets to family, friends, or charitable organizations according to his or her wishes. A will can also be used to appoint a guardian to manage the finances or oversee the care of minor children, as well as to fund a trust from parts of the estate not specifically bequeathed to one's heirs.
Our estate panning attorneys are experienced in advising clients on the best tools for wealth preservation during their lifetimes. We have extensive expertise in the drafting of wills which give effect to the client's wishes and take into account estate and gift taxes as well as the client's personal goals.
Trusts
A trust is an instrument in which property is held by one person (the trustee) for the benefit of another (the beneficiary). The trustee has fiduciary duties to manage the trust assets with care for the beneficiary, and the trustee can be a trusted family member, friend, or a bank or professional money manager who can maximize growth and income within a reasonable risk tolerance. A trust can be established in a will and effective upon one's death (testamentary trust) or it can be created at during one's lifetime (living trust).
With a revocable living trust, a person can change the terms of the trust at any time, including the designation of trustees and beneficiaries. The creator of the trust (the settlor or trustor) can also be the trustee or even the beneficiary, allowing the settlor to manage the assets and distribute income and principal from the trust in accordance with the trust's provisions, with successor trustees managing the trust for future beneficiaries after the death of the settlor. A trust can be used to distribute assets at death or for a period of years beyond the settlor's death.
Campbell Law Offices creates trusts and administers trusts on behalf of our clients. Since the administration of a properly funded trust occurs outside of probate, trusts are a very popular tool for estate planning.
Probate
Probate is the court-supervised process for giving effect to a will or, where there is no valid will, distributing an estate according to the statutory laws of intestate succession. In probate, the court appoints a personal representative who, with the assistance of an attorney, marshals the assets of the estate, conducts an inventory and appraisal, and sells property as appropriate to see that all taxes and debts of the estate are paid and that persons named in the will receive their inheritance.
Our attorneys perform all the necessary duties to shepherd an estate through the probate process as quickly and painlessly as possible, while providing professional advice and services on how best to effectuate the testator's intent. Our lawyers also represent parties in probate litigation challenges or contests to the validity of a will, including allegations that the testator lacked testamentary capacity, that particular provisions or amendments to a will are valid or invalid, or that one will should be given effect over another will in existence.
Living Wills, Advance Directives, Durable Powers of Attorney
Through the use of Advance Health Care Directives and Durable Powers of Attorney, Campbell Law Offices helps people express their wishes for important medical decisions to be made on their behalf in the event they are unconscious or otherwise unable to communicate their desires in the moment. This includes do not resuscitate (DNR) orders, whether one wishes for life-saving measures to be taken, whether one wants to be put on or taken off life support in different circumstances, and whether one wishes his or her body to be donated to science or certain organs to be donated to help others. Powers of Attorney can also be used to vest another with authority to manage one's legal or financial affairs while one is physically or mentally incapacitated.
Guardianships
If the parents of a minor child can no longer care for that child due to death, incapacity, or some other reason, the court will appoint a guardian to care for the child and manage his or her finances. To be sure that the guardian appointed to care for your children is someone you trust, part of your estate plan should include a provision nominating a guardian in your will or other legal instrument.
Campbell Law Offices assists people in the drafting of wills and other legal tools to include providing for a guardianship in the event of death or incapacity. We also represent parties in guardianship proceedings, to advocate for or challenge a petition for guardianship.
Conservatorships
Whereas a guardian is a person appointed to care for a minor child, a conservator is someone appointed to care for the person or the estate of an adult who, for reason of mental or physical incapacity, is no longer able to care for himself or herself or his or her legal and financial affairs. A choice of conservator can be expressed beforehand in a legal document, which will be taken into consideration by the court in determining what is in the person's best interests.
Campbell Law Offices can assist in the creation of a document nominating a conservator, in preparing a petition for conservatorship to be filed with the court, or in representing a party in court conservatorship proceedings.
Seek Experienced Legal Representation
The attorneys at the Campbell Law Offices are renowned for their expertise and familiarity with the law and court procedure in the area of estate planning. Clients appreciate how the firm's lawyers help them understand their options in estate planning and skillfully guide them through times of crisis. If you need assistance in estate planning, administration of a trust, or probate of an estate, contact the Campbell Law Offices to find out how we can help you meet your goals.
