Estate Planning

Legal Solutions From Southern California’s Proven Estate Planning Attorneys

Comprehensive strategies for securing your legacy and eliminating tax exposure

Secure Your Legacy and Protect Your Successors

Estate planning, estate taxes, and asset transfer taxes can be a significant burden without prudent legal planning. Regulations have changed multiple times in recent years, so individuals and families need to maintain up-to-date estate plans to ensure your wishes are conveyed and to avoid or minimize potential government collections.

Estate planning is a specialty of Merhab Robinson & Clarkson. Since 1997, we have helped Southern Californians secure their futures and protect what matters most. As responsive, reliable, and respected attorneys, the MRC team will take the time to understand your objectives and customize a plan to secure the outcomes you expect.

The Estate Planning Process

You may be starting the estate planning process for the first time. Understandably, you may not have a full understanding of what is involved. We’re here to break down the process for you so that you can have a good expectation of what’s to come.

Schedule

The initial call to our office – The Hardest Part!

Most of the time, the hardest part of estate planning is making the call to schedule your appointment. We’ll help with gathering what information we need to get you started and give you the right forms you need to make your first meeting with us as productive as possible.

During your call with our intake specialists, we'll cover a few important things:

1. Understanding your general goals;

2. Confirming if our firm could be a good fit for your needs; and

3. Finding a good time to sit down and discuss further.

Before Our First Estate Planning Meeting

After your appointment is scheduled, it’s time to complete the Estate Planning Questionnaire. It’s important that you are able to submit this questionnaire to us before your scheduled meeting as it allows us to maximize our time together during our first meeting.

Design Meeting

The Estate Planning Meeting

We’re here to educate you on the estate planning process, how it benefits your family, the pros and cons of various options and scenarios – you name it.

The goal of this meeting is to truly dive into what kind of estate plan will meet your specific goals. No two families are alike – therefore, no two clients are alike. Our personal approach ensures we’re creating a plan that works for you.

For our first design meeting, here’s what to expect:

1. Reviewing your Estate Planning Questionnaire to understand who you are, beyond what is written on paper;

2. Explaining estate planning concepts and how these concepts are applicable to you;

3. Designing your estate plan by discussing the pros and cons of various options;

4. Providing you a quote for your estate plan that we’ve designed for you; and

5. Presenting you an engagement agreement to move forward with our services.

Drafting & Review

Estate Planning Drafting

You should receive your first drafts within 1-2 weeks. Why the wait? The estate plan we draft will be unique and specific to your needs. We have at least two sets of eyes reviewing every estate plan before sending drafts to you to ensure the drafts are tailored to your wishes.

Estate Planning Review

After sending you drafts of your estate plan, you have the opportunity to review the documents to ensure they express your wishes properly. You will have time to make adjustments to your estate plan, make final decisions on any pending issues, and resolve any missing information from our initial meeting.

Signing

Signing Meeting

The day is here! You have reviewed your drafts, made any final adjustments, and are ready to sign your estate planning documents. You will need to bring your valid ID so that the many documents of your estate plan can be notarized or witnessed. Before you sign, we will still review your documents at this meeting to make sure you fully understand your estate plan and that it meets your goals.

After we make copies for our records, we’ll send you the original documents compiled together in a beautiful binder, along with a flash drive with an e-copy of your estate plan.

Funding

Funding Your Trust

Just when you thought you were done, in comes the most important part of estate planning: trust funding. We’ll help you with the knowledge you’ll need to transfer your assets to your Trust.

This final step is extremely important because, without proper trust funding, your estate plan is ineffective. One of the many differences between our firm and other attorneys or online software is that we assist you with this process, whether it be transferring your real estate or business interests to your trust, or providing you all the tools you need to retitle your financial accounts.

Extremely Responsive to All My Questions

“I am a trust client of Paula and I cannot say enough positive things about her/their knowledge of trusts and estate planning. She has always been extremely responsive to my questions and concerns and educates me in the process. I have referred my son and a close friend to her, and they are also very pleased. I was referred to her by a friend in family law, and I remain impressed.”

– Anne B., Client

Ms. Robinson is an Excellent Attorney

“Ms. Robinson is an excellent attorney. She and her firm have represented our company as corporate counsel for over 30 years. I have worked with Marla for over 20 years, and she is extremely knowledgeable, articulate, responsive, helpful – the list goes on. She can form a corporation or LLC, write or revise a contract within minutes, and she’s a highly effective negotiator. She and her colleagues have seen us through countless corporate ventures, contract negotiations, employee matters, and more.”

– Aimee M., Client

Timely, Professional, and Reasonable

“Ms. Clarkson inherited me when my attorney left his practice to serve as a judge, so I was a bit apprehensive using this firm initially. But after my first visit, and every time since over the last few years, Ms. Clarkson and her staff have done everything I needed in a very timely, professional, and reasonable manner. I highly recommend this firm for your Estate planning.”

– T. Gibson, Client

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