Step 2 – The Client Questionnaire

When you come to your First Consultation, we ask that you bring your completed Client Questionnaire, where you provide your general asset and family information to help us understand and analyze your current situation.  The types and values of property you hold, the ages of your children, your marital status, and general information about your concerns will help us provide you with information that is directly relevant to your situation.  All information you provide is confidential.  You can click here for the Client Questionnaire form, or we can send it to you by email or mail, or you can complete it in our office by arriving 20 minutes before your consultation time.

As you complete your Questionnaire form about your property and family situation, please keep in mind that your lawyer will need clear instructions about how you want your property to be distributed (“WHO are my beneficiaries?”) as well as a list of 2-3 people you trust to carry out your detailed instructions (“WHO are my trustees/agents/Executors/fiduciaries?”).    If your children are minors, you should also have a a list of 2-3 people who could become their guardians, and some thought to how old your children should be in order to be able to handle important money decisions for themselves.  We can go over these decisions with you and discuss options, pros, and cons to help you finalize these important planning decisions.

CLICK HERE for Client Questionnaire

Step 3 – First Consultation Meeting – Approx. 2 hours

Our First Consultation meeting is a two part process and will generally require you to spend 1 to 2 hours with us.  First, attorney Ernest Kim or Catherine Kim will review your goals and concerns with you and recommend the types of estate plans and trusts that would meet your needs.  The attorney will also provide a general flat fee quote for the estate plan options that would best meet your goals.  If you decide we are not the right fit for your needs, the meeting will end no fees will be charged to you.  Once you choose us and the type of estate plan that you would like to put in place, we will go into the design and specific terms and conditions you would like included, asking very detailed questions so that your plan will be complete.  It is very important that you share any information that could be relevant to the needs of your family, your family’s future financial situation, and goals.  At the meeting, you will sign our flat fee retainer agreement if you decide we are the right firm for you, and 50% of the flat fee quoted will be due.

For all of the same reasons that it is so important that the person initiating the phone call to us regarding their estate plan should be the actual client rather than a friend or relative of the person, this Consultation should be attended ONLY by the actual parties who will be making the estate plan (i.e. the individual or a married couple who owns the property), and no other parties should be in this meeting unless their attendance is necessary to the process for some reason (for example, some clients may need the assistance of their children in order to attend, or certified foreign language translators, financial advisors, or CPA’s who need to be involved in the planning process).

This first consultation meeting can usually be held by Zoom for those who are not able to travel to one of our office locations.

Step 4 – Estate Planning Binder and Document Preparation

We will prepare all of the documents that will become part of your estate plan. During this process, we will contact you for further information and follow up questions about your estate plan. Upon completion of the documents, we will contact you to set up your review and signing meeting with us. We may also contact you for follow up information or to clarify your choices. The documents are reviewed for quality control purposes throughout the process, and this document preparation stage can take 3-6 weeks.

We understand that many people have work and family commitments and that it may seem convenient to delegate these important decisions and discussions to be decided by just one spouse, and sometimes we even receive calls from the children of our clients asking us to make changes to the client’s documents. These important decisions regarding the disposition of your entire life’s savings, will have ripple effects for the rest of your life, and upon generations of your family in the future. As attorneys, we have legal obligations that prevent us from discussing any client files with parties who are not our clients, and we must receive instructions directly from our Clients.

Step 5 – Signing Meeting and Estate Planning Binder Review – Approx 2 hours

At the final review and Signing meeting, we will go over your documents with you to confirm that they reflect your instructions and wishes, review the administrative steps and future management of your Trust by you as a Trustee, and you will sign your documents with our notary that day. We will provide you with the original documents in your Estate Planning binder, for your safekeeping.

This review and signing meeting is conducted in person at one of our office locations, and not by Zoom or other remote means. The notary will need to make a permanent record of the signing and verify your signature and identity with a valid form of identification.

Step 6 – Trust Asset Funding

Funding your assets into your Trust is an important step that must be completed to ensure that your estate plan will control and protect those assets in the event of your death or incapacity. At your signing meeting, we will provide you with the instructions and the needed documents for you to instruct your banks, real estate professionals, insurance agents and financial advisors on the proper titling of your assets. If you choose to have us help you with the real estate transfers into your Trust, we will conclude the recording of deeds with the County Recorder and provide you with these important Trust Transfer Deed documents to add to your Estate Planning binder for safekeeping once the County/ies have processed them. We encourage all of our clients to confer with their bankers, financial advisors, realtors and insurance professionals to make sure your asset management partners are aware of, and can assist you with, confirming that your assets are properly transferred into your Trust.

Step 7 – Liquidity Planning

Setting up an estate plan that suits your family’s needs is a crucial step in securing their future wealth and well-being. The decisions you make today will impact your ability to support yourself, your spouse, and your children, enabling them to achieve their educational goals and financial stability should anything happen to you. Nobody intends to leave their families in financial distress, yet throughout our nearly three decades as probate and trust attorneys, we consistently witness the most common problem faced by our clients: a lack of liquidity.

In simple terms, liquid assets refer to cash available for expenses. When a parent, spouse, or primary breadwinner in the family becomes incapacitated or passes away, their income stream ceases. Many families nowadays rely on dual incomes from both parents or a working parent and a stay-at-home parent to maintain their household. Single parents leave their families even more vulnerable to the challenges brought about by a shortage of liquid assets. For instance, a family that previously had a parent providing childcare at home will now need to find alternative arrangements, often incurring significant financial costs.

Surprisingly, we have discovered that many families, even in the most affluent areas of California and those with seven-figure “assets,” have not adequately planned for the cash required to replace income in the event of incapacity or death of a family member.  Living in expensive California homes requires ongoing monthly mortgage, loan and property tax payments.  Accessing equity in real estate is often difficult without selling the property, particularly on a single income that makes qualifying for loans more challenging. People seldom consider that they can either live in the house while leaving the equity untapped or sell it to access the funds, but will then require a new home and a new mortgage with monthly payments.

Without a proper plan to replace lost income, it becomes impossible to meet obligations such as mortgages, living expenses, and tuition fees, often resulting in the need to sell assets quickly. Real estate, stock accounts, and retirement savings must be liquidated when cash is needed, regardless of whether market conditions are favorable for selling or not. The death or incapacity of a loved one, which is already a traumatic event, is typically followed by further upheaval when the family realizes they must relocate, leaving behind friends and important connections. Additionally, plans for college, graduate school, and other aspirations must be altered to fit the new financial reality of the entire family.

When planning for your family’s protection, it is vital to consider liquidity and life insurance planning for income replacement, especially in high-cost-of-living areas like California. Here are some essential questions to ponder:

Step 8 – Optional – For Further Reviews and Documentation

Some situations will require further reviews, more complex planning, or further documentation of your wishes. Many family situations lend themselves to disagreements and litigation over property, and if your situation has such “red flags,” there will be further recommendations made by the attorneys to help your successors defend your legacy from attack. Not every family will need these further steps however, so these will be determined on a case-by case basis. It is very important that you share all relevant information to help the attorney advise you properly.  Your attorney absolutely needs to know certain things about your family, even uncomfortable issues such as:

• Problematic family relationships or history of disagreements, especially between children;
• Family members with unreliable spouses, or who may be at risk of divorce;
• Family members who have past issues with substance abuse or addictions;
• Family members who have a past history of being involved in litigation over money;
• Family members with a history of gambling/ problematic spending habits/ bad investment decisions;
• Family members who don’t get along with others;
• Family members with a history of mental health issues;
• Financially struggling family members, or family members who are in debt or have needed to borrow money;
• Family members with bankruptcy or creditor issues, or judgments against them;
• Family members in risky professions prone to being sued, such as dentists, doctors, lawyers, etc.;
• Family members with health problems that affect their ability to work

As a separate issue, business owners will often need to do additional planning for the succession of the business, if they expect it to continue to operate beyond their own management. Many business owners don’t realize that a family owned business will typically disappear if it is improperly operated due to the illness or death of the owner. Many valuable businesses that could have been sold for a profit or continued to generate income for the family, will fail because of the lack of planning. A business succession plan can ensure continued operation and success, even if there is no one else the family who can run that business.