A health care directive, also known as a living will, outlines your wishes regarding medical treatment if you’re unable to communicate them yourself. Below, we’ll walk you through essential steps to create an estate plan that keeps probate at bay. Probate can be a lengthy and costly process, which is why many people seek ways to bypass it when planning for the future.

Whether you're in Brooklyn, Queens, or Staten Island, our fully accessible office is ready to welcome you. Estate planning isn't just for the wealthy—it's essential for anyone who wants to ensure their family avoids unnecessary legal complications during already difficult times. The combination of strategies that works best for you depends on your specific assets, family structure, values, and goals. You've worked hard to build financial security, and you deserve an estate plan that protects those assets from unnecessary erosion through probate costs and delays. Avoiding probate court requires proactive planning, but the peace of mind and financial protection it provides your family is invaluable. Upon your death, the trust assets pass directly to your beneficiaries without probate.

Maintain a Comprehensive Asset Inventory and Digital Estate Plan

This method provides privacy and ensures a smooth transfer of assets to your beneficiaries. As the grantor, you can maintain control over the trust during your lifetime and designate a trustee to manage the assets upon your death. It allows you to clearly outline how you want your assets CA distributed after your passing. Probate court can be a lengthy and costly process for families dealing with the loss of a loved on

UC offers resources to support you as CA you plan your financial future — from your first day of work through retirement. CalSavers is available to California workers whose employers don’t offer a retirement plan, self-employed individuals, and others who want to save extra. CalSavers is California’s retirement savings program for workers who do not have a way to save for retirement at wor

A Financial Advisor and Fiduciary You Can Understand.

"…takes care in responding to my questions, explains well the particulars of my financial plan and investments, and is aways open to concerns I might express." 11 "The team is super responsive and always incredibly helpful in helping me ensure I am ready for retirement and beyond. From day one they were familiar with my account, attentive to my needs and went above and beyond with service - including assistance with computers! We are very confident in his management of our investments because his decisions are rooted with our success as the priority."21 When planning for financial success and the utilization of my investments he takes a cautious approach which gives me confidence that my long-range financial goals are secure."30

Income Range

"In times like these it is a complete pleasure and comfort to work with the professionals at EP Wealth, especially Ashley. I never doubt his commitment to us and our investments."28 "They have answered all of my questions very quickly and thoroughly. "From the start, they demonstrated a high level of professionalism and deep knowledge of investments, retirement planning, and tax-efficient strategies. Guidance for navigating financial considerations before, during, or after divorce, including cash flow analysis, asset division scenarios, and longer-term planning implications. Holistic planning that brings together cash flow, investments, retirement, and other financial considerations to help clients make informed decisions across different life stages.

We hear that all the time from people when we first meet them. I’ve worked with people with very little money when they started as well as people who had more than they will ever spend…and everything in between. We’ll work with you every step of the way and you’ll be able to monitor your progress 24/7 with our easy-to-use mobile app. At Virtue Wealth Management, we’ve been serving Santa Clarita and Valencia residents since 2013 as a fee-only fiduciary. Look for a fiduciary who is legally required to put your best interests first at all times — not someone who earns commissions by selling specific products. After your financial plan is designed by us, you’ll have regularly scheduled coaching calls with your advisor to review your goals and your progres

When you pass away, your beneficiaries simply present a death certificate to the brokerage firm, and the assets transfer into their names—no probate required. You'll name one or more beneficiaries who will automatically receive the account funds upon your death. Your 401(k), IRA, pension, and other retirement accounts pass directly to named beneficiaries, completely bypassing probate—but only if you've properly designated beneficiarie

Even if you haven’t decided exactly when you’ll be ready to retire, it’s important to start preparing as soon as possible. Read more about different rules that may apply to your retirement benefits. (If you’re eligible, you’ll receive a Retirement Benefits Decision GuidePDF in the mail.) The sooner you enroll, the sooner you start receiving UC contributions and/or service credit. Each session requires individual registration. This presentation will help you understand CA your retirement benefits and the steps to retire from UC. These and many other questions should be considered several years prior to retirement in order to ensure a successful retiremen