Few activities are more important, yet more intimidating, than planning for your own long-term security and the continued well-being of your loved ones. The complexities of estate laws can lead many people to put off this crucial task until it’s too late, but with competent legal help you can lay a solid foundation for protecting your life and preserving your future.

With new laws being passed on a regular basis, the guidance of an experienced estate planning lawyer is critical in assuring that your unique estate planning goals are understood and carried out. Proper estate planning can ensure that your invaluable legacy is not wasted, and that loved ones are cared for according to your wishes.  Avoiding probate costs, expensive court proceedings and unnecessary taxes are important elements in preserving the integrity of your estate.

As an experienced California Estate Planning Lawyer, I offer trusted legal solutions to clients in the following practice areas:

• Estate Planning
  
• Asset Protection
  
• Conservatorships
• Elder Law
• Living Wills
• Power of Attorney
• Probate
• Trusts
  
• Wills 

With comprehensive expertise in California estate law, my Firm is particularly adept at developing and executing plans tailored to each client’s circumstances and goals — from small probate matters to multi-million-dollar trusts and estates.

At the Law Offices of Douglas L. Edgar, Attorney at Law, you will receive personalized and individualized service.  You will receive estate-planning documents customized to you and your needs rather than a standardize one-size-fits-all trust.  This personalization is at a fixed price comparable to the cost of a regular trust.

If you or someone you know needs the assistance of an experienced California Estate Planning Lawyer, call Attorney Douglas Edgar today at 866-733-5956, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your initial consultation.

Probate: 
Probate is the legal process of transferring property following a person's death.  Although probate customs and laws have changed over time, the purpose has remained much the same: an individual formalizes his or her intentions as to the transfer of his or her property at the time of death (typically through a Will); his or her property is collected, certain debts are paid from the estate and the property is distributed accordingly.

Wills:
A Will is a written instrument containing directions on how the assets and property of the testator (individual creating the Will) shall be divided upon his or her death.  Wills can also contain instructions regarding the care of minor children, gifts to charity and formation of posthumous trusts.  In order for a Will to be legally valid, the testator must sign the Will in the presence of two witnesses and he or she must be mentally competent and not acting under duress or under the controlling influence of another.

Trusts:
Trusts are estate-planning tools that can replace or supplement Wills and can also help manage property during life.  A trust manages the distribution of a person's property by transferring its benefits and obligations to different people.  Maintaining assets in a Trust often makes it easier to minimize taxes and leave a larger inheritance.  A Trust is also a way to provide a steady income to the Beneficiary over time (as opposed to distribution in a lump sum), thus reducing the Beneficiary's tax burden, allowing the Trust to grow through investment, and keeping assets free from creditors of the Trust beneficiary.  Trusts can also be established for the benefit of charitable organizations.

Probating Estates:
Estates are categorized as probate or non-probate property.  Probate property is property that is transferred by the provisions of a Will.  Non-probate property is property that is either jointly held and passes by right of survivorship, is directed by beneficiary designation such as an IRA or a life insurance policy, or passes according to the terms of a trust.

Estate Planning:
Good estate planning is more than just a simple Will.  It minimizes potential taxes and fees (including Federal and State gift and estate taxes), and sets up contingency planning to make sure wishes regarding health care treatment are followed before and after death.  A good estate plan also coordinates what happens to a home, investments, business, life insurance, employee benefits (such as a 401K plan) and other property in the event of disability or death.

Powers of Attorney:
Powers of Attorney are governed by the law of agency, a branch of common law concerned with the delegation of power from one person (the principal) to another (attorney-in-fact or agent).  When a person becomes incapacitated, the government or the court often steps in and appoints someone to represent and make legal decisions for the incapacitated person.  One of the ways to avoid government or court intervention and the appointment of a stranger to act as your guardian, is to use a Power of Attorney.  A Power of Attorney is a written document that can be limited in scope, or it can allow one person to give another the full power and authority to represent him or her.  There are two types of Power of Attorneys; one covering assets and one covering health care decisions.

Conservatorship:
A conservatorship is a court order that a person deemed fully or partially incapable be subject to the legal control of another person.  The conservator is responsible for the assets and finances of an incapacitated person.  Many jurisdictions use the term "guardian of the person" to refer to the same legal principle.  It may be necessary to petition a court to appoint a conservator for persons:

• Who have physical or mental problems that prevent them from managing their own financial affairs;
• Who have no person already legally authorized to assume responsibility for them; and
• Where other kinds of assistance with financial management will not adequately protect them. 
  

If you or someone you know needs the assistance of an experienced California Estate Planning Lawyer, call Attorney Douglas Edgar today at 866-733-5956, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your initial consultation.

If you or someone you know needs the assistance of an experienced California Estate Planning Lawyer, call Attorney Douglas Edgar today at 866-733-5956, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your initial consultation.

ADDRESS OF THE FIRM:
Douglas L. Edgar, Attorney at Law
26323 Jefferson Avenue, Suite E104
Murrieta, CA 92562
Telephone: 866-733-5956
Fax: 951-698-6191
Services Provided after Hours

MEMBERS OF THE FIRM:

Douglas L. Edgar

Courts Admitted:

•  All California state courts, Southern & Central District Courts of California, Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Date Admitted to the Bar:

• 12/3/01

Education: 

• California Southern Law School, JD, 2001