Our Work in Brief

FERIANTE LAW FIRM LLP focuses on helping individuals and couples create legally binding documents that outline how their assets should be managed during their life and distributed after their death.

Consultation: Firm lawyers meet with clients to discuss their concerns to determine the best estate planning options.

Document Preparation: Firm lawyers draft various legal documents, such as wills, trusts, powers of attorney, healthcare directives that include agent and beneficiary designations. These documents are tailored to the client's specific needs and designed to address their unique circumstance.

 Probate Avoidance: Your goal should be to avoid or minimize the need for probate which is the court-supervised process of administering a deceased person's estate. Establishing trusts, naming beneficiaries on accounts, and structuring asset ownership to bypass probate and streamline the transfer of assets to heirs are important elements of an estate plan.

Family and Succession Planning: Clients receive assistance developing succession plans for family businesses, passing down family heirlooms and assets, and addressing complex family dynamics. Special attention is given clients who must navigate issues related to blended families, second marriages, and providing for minor children or individuals with special needs.

Legal Updates and Maintenance: Estate plans require periodic review and updates to ensure that the client's wishes are up-to-date and their estate plan remains effective. This is especially important when there are new regulations or law changes.

Executor and Trustee Guidance: Our firm provides guidance to executors, trustees and other fiduciaries responsible for administering trusts and probate estates. This assistance includes explaining roles, assistance with the proper execution of duties, and providing ongoing support and advice throughout the administration process.

The Approach

The Firm's is a client centered approach that focuses on understanding the client's unique needs, goals, and concerns. Here are some key elements:

Personalized Consultation: Each client engagement begins with a consultation. By asking thoughtful questions and actively listening to the client's responses, we gain valuable insight into client priorities and preferences.

Tailored Solutions: A “blueprint” for a personalized plan is drafted. Drafting this blueprint, helps ensure that there is a defined goal and how that goal is to be achieved.

Education and Empowerment: Discussions of the various options available educates and empowers clients to make informed decisions. These discussions include explaining various complex legal concepts in plain language, outlining the benefits and drawbacks of different strategies, and answering any questions or concerns the client may have.

Collaboration and Coordination: We are happy to help clients connect with quality professionals as estate planning of collaboration with other professionals.

Ongoing Communication: The firm can be reached by phone, email or text. Clients have access to a secure portal, for the sharing of documents. The portal is a handy way to recommend specific changes to documents or to ask questions. Gone are the days of scouring email threads in hopes of finding long lost notes or answers to document related questions.

Regular Review and Updates: Making the occasional update is the way a plan can be adapted to changing situations. These updates help to ensure that a plan remain current and effective.

Compassionate Support: Estate planning can be a sensitive and emotional process. Empathy, sensitivity, and compassion guide our client interactions.

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HAVE QUESTIONS?

Frequently Asked Questions

  • I WAS NAMED TRUSTEE OF MY DECEASED FATHER'S TRUST. WHAT DO I DO NOW?

    Administration of a Trust is a foreign process to most people. As a result, it can be more frustrating, time consuming and expensive than it needs to be. Consulting with an attorney can help you more easily administer your father's Trust.

  • IS A HAND WRITTEN WILL VALID IN CA?

    While hand writing one's own Will seems like an easy enough task, meeting the requirements for a judge to find it to be valid is not as easy. There are times and circumstances in which executing a hand written ("holographic") Will may be the only option, however, this is not always the best option. It is best to meet with an attorney to discuss your circumstances, your wishes and your options before drafting a holographic Will.

  • MY WILL IS FROM ANOTHER STATE. IS IT VALID IN CA?

    It depends. The laws for establishing a valid Will vary by state. This can be a very complicated matter in California. An attorney can provide you with assistance in presenting the Will to the proper California court for review and determination of whether the Will meets the requirements to be valid under California law.

  • THE BANK WON'T LET ME ACCESS MY DECEASED BROTHER'S SAFE DEPOSIT BOX. I AM HIS TRUSTEE. WHAT GIVES?

    The bank would have frozen his box upon learning of his passing. You will need to provide the bank with the proper Trust documents if your brother registered the box into his Trust. Otherwise, if he did not grant you or anyone else authority to access the contents of the box, the Court will need to grant authority through the probate process.

  • MY PARENTS ARE DOING THEIR ESTATE PLAN AND WANT ME TO SERVE AS SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE. I AM NOT ORGANIZED OR GOOD AT FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS. SHOULD I TURN DOWN THE POSITION?

    Accepting the role of Trustee means that you accept the duties, responsibilities and liabilities of serving in that capacity. If you feel that taking on such a role is beyond your capabilities, you can decline to serve as Trustee. Your parents' can explain or they can ask their attorney to explain the role to you so you can make an informed decision.

  • I HAVE NOTICED THAT MOM'S MEMORY IS STARTING TO SLIP. IS IT TOO LATE FOR HER TO EXECUTE A POWER OF ATTORNEY?

    A person has to have the legal capacity to execute legal documents. Legal capacity and medical capacity are evaluated by different standards. California law provides an attorney with the parameters to establish whether or not your mother has the legal capacity to execute a Power of Attorney. Your mother should meet with an attorney sooner than later.