What Does Shafae Law Do?

After we posted about the opening of our new Los Angeles office last week, we received a lot of questions about what we actually do. So here’s a list of what we do and what we don’t do.

We do:

• Establish trusts that protect your assets from the probate process and help ensure you benefit from current tax laws

• Transfer your home into your trust

• Help guide you on how to move your other assets into your trust

• Draft wills that name guardians for children and give away your things (or to make sure your things end up in your trust)

• Create documents (called Powers of Attorney) that give someone the right to act in your shoes in case you get sick, can’t do it yourself, or don’t want to do it yourself (e.g. call the bank or your health insurance company to find out what kind of coverage you need)

SIDE NOTE: A forthcoming blog post will explain this in more detail, but even your spouse needs a power of attorney to be able to do these things on your behalf; being married isn’t enough to give your spouse the legal authority to act on your behalf

• Create documents that give someone the right to determine health care decisions when you are unable to do so (e.g. if you are in a coma and there’s a decision to be made about whether to proceed to surgery or not)

• Review and update existing estate planning documents

• Advise on tax implications that impact your estate planning wishes

• Administer a trust for someone who has passed away

• Facilitate the probate process for someone who has passed away

We don’t do:

• Financial planning, like telling you where to invest your money

• Real estate transactions, like helping advise on the housing market or conducting a purchase/sales transaction

• Tax controversies (disputing the IRS) or file tax paperwork for you

• Litigation. We do not handle legal disputes

Not sure if we do or don’t do what you need? We offer free consultations. Contact us today!