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14 Oct, 2024 by Lynne
I contacted Carla to represent me in what turned out to be a very prolonged, contentious probate case involving my mother's estate. From the beginning Carla was understanding, kind, compassionate and professional. She took a personal interest in my situation, always thinking about my mother, who passed away before this case was settled. Through the course of the case Carla always gave 100% to this very complicated civil litigation. She fought vigorously to defend my mother's dying wishes. Carla's hard work and dedication resulted in a positive outcome. I am so thankful that I chose Carla for my attorney. I highly recommend Carla to anyone who is seeking representation in a probate/civil matter You will not be disappointed.
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16 Aug, 2024 by Matt brock
Jared was phenomenal. I’ve had a great experience working with him and his team. I highly recommend using these guys if you find yourself needing an injury attorney. Very happy with my results.
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01 Aug, 2024 by Joshua roldan
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10 Aug, 2023 by Jordan kelly
Joel is amazing! Trustworthy, experienced and extremely professional. He has your best interest at heart for sure. I highly recommend his services!!!
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05 Jul, 2023 by Jorge mendoza
Joel bailey was professional from the start to finish . Outcome was great .good job joel
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05 Jul, 2023 by Jt reiman
Excellent experience!! Joel is outstanding, he represented me in a very stressful case, I HIGHLY recommend his services—he is professional, prompt and always available.
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19 Apr, 2018 by Greg
The team at Geiger Law Office was highly professional and great to work with. They were very informative and thorough, giving us confidence in our resulting family Trust.
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08 Jan, 2018 by Kelly
My husband and I had our first trust completed by Brenda and her helpful staff years ago. We needed a complete review and update to our trust and were very happy once again with their service. All details and options were clearly explained to us as and we were given time to discuss and consider each option. All our questions were answered with no surprises at the end. We highly recommend Brenda Geiger and her staff for any estate planning/trust needs.
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03 Jan, 2018 by Debbie
The best thing we did in 2017 was establish our trust. My husband and I were procrastinating because it seemed so overwhelming to us. The Geiger team’s professionalism, organization, and patience made the entire process seem so simple. They helped address everything needed to protect our estate (including property, finances, medical directives, etc.). I highly recommend them to everyone!
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19 Jul, 2019 by Tom and jackie
We needed our family trust updated and we went to Sara to incorporate the new laws and rules of estate planning while adding our family changes. We were completely satisfied with her process, listening and consideration of our questions and update of our trust documents. We recommend her without reserve!
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30 Mar, 2019 by Duane
Sara Tasch of Tasch Law Firm guided my wife and I through the process of creating, assembling, and completing our Family Trust. It was truly a pleasant and comforting experience from start to finish. Thank you, Sara, for your expertise and meticulous attention to detail and to the needs of our family.
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20 Feb, 2019 by Lori
Sara was wonderful to work with. She explained everything very clearly and she is very efficient and personable. So glad I have her as my attorney. I would highly recommend her to anyone that needs a estate planning
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17 Feb, 2021 by Gary
Andrea was very helpful to us to design an estate plan and a new revocable living trust that updated our decade old family Trust and so many associated documents. Her Elder Law expertise added additional provisions to protect us in the case of any medical issues. As we went through this process, Andrea communicated every detail to us thoroughly. And she answered our many questions with respect.
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07 Feb, 2018 by Alison
Andrea has counseled me wisely and developed a thoughtful trust account for my family. She also assisted me in successfully dealing with a complex deed ownership dilemma in Costa Rica. I am very confident in her professionalism, ethics and empathy for her clients, and would highly recommend her.
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09 Feb, 2015 by Stephanie
Andrea and her team did a great job of helping us update our trust and create an estate planning portfolio. We don't live in southern California, but wanted to have Andrea do our trust because she lives near our daughter, who is the executrix of our trust. That put an extra burden on her office, but they handled it well, and we are happy with the end product.
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30 Nov, 2021 by Kristina
William Lange from Geiger Law helped me put together my first trust. He had my best interest in mind throughout the process and I felt very comfortable in trusting in his recommendations. It's a big step (but necessary!) to create a trust and the process was pretty seamless. He explained everything in everyday language. I'm very happy with his work and highly recommend to anyone considering creating a trust.
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01 Jun, 2021 by Yannick
We worked with William to get our trust and estate planning done and had an excellent experience! William was very knowledgeable, personable and efficient. Highly recommended.
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27 May, 2021 by Mike
We worked with William on the creation of a variety of documents including will trust, power of attorney, and others. William was efficient, personable and very knowledgeable. He coached us through the whole process and came back with our documents created as expected.
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24 Feb, 2018 by Larry
We needed to create a trust so our estate could be passed seamlessly to our children when we are gone. We hired Clinton Crosser based on recommendations from our friends. He is impressively experienced and knowledgeable in this area of law. An added bonus is his patience and his delightful personality. Covering all the bases to create a bullet-proof trust is anything but simple, no matter what the on-line ads may say. Crosser law is thorough and meticulous about careful preparation and correction of any errors that may be found. All needed documents such as grant deeds are identified, and Crosser law recovered these for us when missing, filed necessary papers with the county, and gave detailed instructions and forms for us to take to our banks, stock brokers, etc. He gave us a big, well organized binder ("The Blue Monster") with all relevant documents and instructions, including detailed instructions for our kids to follow as successor trustees. All this for a reasonable price. Bravo!
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14 Jan, 2018 by Joe
My wife and I put off creating a will and family trust for quite some time, fearing that the process would be time consuming and complex. Clinton took the time to teach us about wills and trusts and why we needed both. He was a pleasure to work with and made the entire process quick and easy. I have already referred him to friends and family.
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07 Jan, 2018 by Brenda
Me Crosser helped ed my husband and I with setting up our living trust. It was something we had needed to do for a long time and had been putting of. Me Crosser helped us think about the decisions we needed to make and really worked with us to explain all of the details. It was such a blessing that he was able to guide us through the entire process. I highly recommend his services for anyone that needs to do estate planning because he can explain things in simple terms and help you make the really tough decisions.
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22 May, 2017 by Mavis hill
was first referred to Tara Cheever when my wife and I were looking for an Attorney who could educate and assist us in crafting a Living Trust. It was super important to us as an Aunt and Uncle to ensure that we effectively handed off, to the next generation of our family, the businesses and properties that we had created and acquired for them. Our experience with Tara during this process was enjoyable, enlightening and resulted in fulfilling all of our criteria. Fast forward 3 years later and Tara has become my legal counsel for both my Art and Farm companies. Since then she has helped me maneuver a bad business partnership, create new business entities, purchase multiple unique properties, while providing ongoing legal consultation for other areas of need. There is nothing more priceless to a small business than having excellent and affordable legal representation. Tara will continue to get my business and my referral.
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20 May, 2017 by Flavoredlayers farms
I was first referred to Tara Cheever when my wife and I were looking for an Attorney who could educate and assist us in crafting a Living Trust. It was super important to us as an Aunt and Uncle to ensure that we effectively handed off, to the next generation of our family, the businesses and properties that we had created and acquired for them. Our experience with Tara during this process was enjoyable, enlightening and resulted in fulfilling all of our criteria. Fast forward 3 years later and Tara has become my legal point person for both my Art and Farm companies. Since then she has helped me maneuver a bad business partnership, create new business entities, purchase multiple unique properties, while providing ongoing legal consultation for other areas of need. There is nothing more priceless to a small business than having excellent and affordable legal representation. Tara will continue to get my business and my referral.
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18 Nov, 2015 by Max
Tara has put together my family trust she had worked for me off and on for 5 or 6 years she is very efficient she knows what she's doing I would recommend her hundred percent and she is very pretty
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14 Aug, 2017 by Anonymous
She just completed a rather complex family trust for us and was a pleasure to work with. Very knowledgeable, through, and I would recommend her highly.
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18 Dec, 2016 by Vickie
This Trust Sandra is working is the3rd for my family. She is very help filling in information we likely would have over looked. Great Attorney and pleasant person.
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04 Nov, 2016 by Christopher
Very knowledgeable, very competent. Looks for the most efficient and effective solution. Took a very complicated situation and distilled it down to the essential elements that needed attention. Very fair with her billing. i would recommend without hesitation. C
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24 Nov, 2019 by Pieter matthew olimerick
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07 Dec, 2017 by Docscotty2001
Ms Hersch has helped me with various issues over the past several years. She is honest and has the highest ethics. Besides being highly competent what I really love about her is that she really cares about me. She makes that clear in the way that she listens and takes time to arrive at the very best approach to solve the problems I set before her. I would never want to use anyone else. She is the best.
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27 Feb, 2013 by Bill
I live out of state and have been having problems with getting my Father's estate in California settled. Contacted Keith Davidson about representing my interests in the Estate. He took the time to discuss the matter with me and explained what he thought he could do for me. I have found his office to be available and very responsive.
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04 Aug, 2011 by Anonymous
Ann was tremendous in helping with a family member's will. I would recommend her to anyone. She has a great paralegal working for her as well that is extremely helpful and responsive. No question I would go back to Ann with any estate issues I have in the future.
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01 Jul, 2019 by Evelyn
I could not have asked for a better Bankruptcy Attorney. My needs were put first and was treated as a friend rather than a number. My nerves were calmed and the process was explained every step of the way. Stephan went above and beyond and did everything to ensure a great outcome.
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27 Jan, 2015 by Susan
Mr Haase (Patrick) exceeded all expectations. I have encountered many different attorneys in my life and he exemplifies the best qualities of them all--knowledgeable, concise and honest!!! Take the bull by the horns attitude that gave me comfort in a difficult situation. I would highly recommend him and his firm.
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09 Sep, 2024 by Tavio najera
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09 Sep, 2024 by Travieso ramirez
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09 Sep, 2024 by Jose hernandez
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23 Mar, 2016 by Adelheid
When I needed his help, I truley had help. Knowledgable, professional, and yes: Kind ! This attorney helped me through a very rough patch in my life. Things were settled quickly and what was the Best, no one got hurt or even offended. Truth and fairness won out, and this is what I like best about Rickard Borg.. His devotion to fairness and the Facts. Am overwhelmed by his ability to see the " human" side of things... and be more than reasonable with his Fees. Things got settled correctly and we were treated with the utmost compassion and respect. Rick Borg comes highly recommanded by us.. we owe him a host of gratitude and wish that his type of lawering would be Norm I just had to say all this because of the gratitude I have and for the help he was to me and my family. " This attorney you do want on your side.. when you face a legal matter." I can not say enough good about this man. Thank you again, Mr. Borg, you are the Best.. and my family and I will never forget Addie J
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29 Aug, 2013 by Anonymous
Has a complete lack of knowledge of the law. Gives client information about the law that is incorrect. This incorrect information leaves the client vulnerable to excessive damages. Says he knows all in real estate law, and will insult you when you present him with the correct information you researched. Then tells you to do more research to further prove the case. Very condescending and rude. Does not advise his clients appropriately. Wish I had never had to deal with him.
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01 Apr, 2011 by Anonymous
I found Mr. Borg to be vey kind, helpful, patient and knowledgable with my case. He took his time to listen, to review and go above and beyond to help me.
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Questions? We have answers

What a Trusts Lawyer Can Do for You

A trusts lawyer specializes in creating and managing trusts, which are legal entities that allow individuals to transfer assets to beneficiaries while maintaining control over how and when those assets are distributed. Trusts are used for estate planning, asset protection, tax planning, and ensuring the financial security of loved ones. Trusts lawyers help clients choose the right type of trust for their needs, draft trust documents, and advise on the administration and management of trusts.

Whether you're planning to pass on your assets to your heirs, protect your wealth from creditors, or provide for a disabled family member, a trusts lawyer can help you establish a trust that meets your financial and personal goals.

When Should I Hire a Trusts Lawyer?

You should consider hiring a trusts lawyer in various situations, particularly when you're planning for the future distribution of your assets or protecting your wealth. Common reasons to hire a trusts lawyer include:

  • Estate planning: If you want to ensure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes, a lawyer can help you create a revocable or irrevocable trust to avoid probate and provide for your heirs.
  • Asset protection: If you want to protect your assets from creditors, lawsuits, or potential future liabilities, a lawyer can help you establish a trust to shield your wealth.
  • Special needs planning: If you have a disabled family member, a lawyer can create a special needs trust to provide for their care without affecting their eligibility for government benefits.
  • Tax planning: If you're looking to minimize estate taxes or manage tax liabilities, a lawyer can help you create tax-advantageous trusts, such as a credit shelter trust or charitable remainder trust.
  • Charitable giving: If you want to leave a legacy through charitable donations, a lawyer can help you set up a charitable trust to ensure your donations are managed according to your wishes.
  • Business succession planning: If you own a business and want to ensure a smooth transition of ownership, a lawyer can help you establish a trust to pass the business on to your heirs or chosen successors.

Hiring a trusts lawyer early in the estate planning process ensures that your assets are protected and your wishes are clearly documented, reducing the chances of disputes after your death.

What Does a Trusts Lawyer Do?

A trusts lawyer provides a variety of legal services to help individuals create, manage, and administer trusts. Their responsibilities often include:

  • Drafting trust documents: Preparing the legal documents needed to create the trust, ensuring it is tailored to your specific goals and complies with state and federal laws.
  • Choosing the right type of trust: Assisting clients in selecting the most appropriate type of trust for their needs, whether it's a revocable trust, irrevocable trust, living trust, or special needs trust.
  • Trust administration: Guiding trustees through their legal responsibilities, including managing assets, making distributions to beneficiaries, and filing tax returns.
  • Modifying or terminating trusts: Helping modify or terminate trusts if circumstances change, such as changes in tax laws, family situations, or personal preferences.
  • Protecting beneficiaries' interests: Structuring trusts to protect the interests of beneficiaries, especially if there are concerns about financial management, disability, or dependency issues.
  • Minimizing estate taxes: Assisting clients in structuring their trusts to minimize or avoid estate taxes, ensuring more of the estate passes to beneficiaries.
  • Handling disputes: Mediating or representing clients in court if disputes arise among beneficiaries or between trustees and beneficiaries.

How Are Trusts Lawyers Paid?

Trusts lawyers typically charge for their services based on the complexity of the trust and the type of legal work involved. Common payment methods include:

  • Flat fee: For drafting basic trusts, such as revocable living trusts or special needs trusts, many lawyers charge a flat fee. This can range from $1,000 to $5,000 or more, depending on the complexity of the trust.
  • Hourly rate: For more complex trust planning, ongoing trust administration, or resolving disputes, some lawyers charge by the hour. Hourly rates typically range from $150 to $500 or more, depending on the lawyer’s experience and location.
  • Retainer: For long-term trust administration or complex estate planning cases, some lawyers may require a retainer, an upfront payment that covers ongoing services.
  • Contingency fee (rare): In rare cases, particularly in disputes involving the administration of a trust, lawyers may work on a contingency fee basis, getting paid only if they successfully recover funds or resolve a legal dispute in your favor.

Always discuss the fee structure with your lawyer during the initial consultation to understand the total cost of services.

How Much Does a Trusts Lawyer Cost?

The cost of hiring a trusts lawyer depends on the complexity of the trust, the lawyer’s experience, and the fee structure. General cost estimates include:

  • Basic trust creation: For simple trusts, such as revocable living trusts, fees may range from $1,000 to $3,000.
  • Complex trust creation: For sophisticated estate plans involving multiple trusts, tax planning strategies, or special needs considerations, legal fees may range from $5,000 to $10,000 or more.
  • Trust administration: If you are serving as a trustee and need ongoing legal advice, hourly rates for trust administration can range from $150 to $500 or more.
  • Dispute resolution: Costs for litigation or mediation in trust disputes may range from $5,000 to $50,000 or more, depending on the complexity of the case.

Be sure to get a detailed cost estimate from your lawyer during the consultation to ensure the services fit within your budget.

Top Questions to Ask a Trusts Lawyer

Before hiring a trusts lawyer, consider asking the following questions:

  1. What experience do you have with creating trusts?
    Ensure the lawyer has experience drafting trusts and managing trust administration for clients with similar goals or asset structures.
  2. What types of trusts do you recommend for my situation?
    Ask the lawyer to explain the different types of trusts available and which ones best suit your needs.
  3. How do you charge for your services?
    Clarify the fee structure and request an estimate of the total cost.
  4. What are the tax implications of the trust?
    Ensure the lawyer can explain how the trust will affect your taxes and strategies to minimize tax liability.
  5. How long will it take to set up the trust?
    Ask for a timeline for creating and finalizing the trust documents.
  6. Will you handle the trust administration?
    If ongoing management is required, inquire whether the lawyer will assist with trust administration or if you'll need a separate trustee.
  7. Can you help resolve disputes if they arise?
    Ask about the lawyer's experience in resolving trust disputes.

How to Check the Credibility of a Trusts Lawyer

To ensure you are hiring a reputable trusts lawyer, take the following steps:

  • Verify their bar status: Check with your state bar association to confirm the lawyer is licensed and has no disciplinary actions.
  • Look for trust law experience: Review their website or professional profile to ensure they specialize in estate planning and trusts.
  • Read client reviews and testimonials: Look for feedback on platforms like Avvo, Martindale-Hubbell, or Google.
  • Ask for references: Request references from past clients who can speak to their experience with the lawyer.
  • Check for certifications: Look for certifications such as Certified Estate Planning Law Specialist (EPLS) or memberships in organizations like the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys (AAEPA).

What Should I Prepare for My First Consultation?

To make the most of your first consultation with a trusts lawyer, bring the following:

  • List of assets: Prepare a list of all your assets, including real estate, bank accounts, investments, retirement accounts, and personal property.
  • List of beneficiaries: Provide names and contact information of individuals or organizations you want to name as beneficiaries.
  • Existing estate planning documents: Bring copies of any existing wills, trusts, or other estate planning documents.
  • Financial information: Bring financial statements, tax returns, and other relevant financial documentation.
  • Questions for the lawyer: Prepare a list of questions about the trust creation process, fees, and how the trust will protect your assets and beneficiaries.
  • Goals for the trust: Clearly outline your objectives, such as asset protection, tax minimization, or provisions for beneficiaries, so the lawyer can tailor the trust to your needs.

By preparing thoroughly for your consultation, you can help the lawyer assess your situation effectively and receive the best possible legal advice for creating and managing your trust.

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