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Watch Carina de la Torre explain probate alternatives on YouTube. Should I avoid probate? This is really a client specific question. We don't take the approach that everyone needs to avoid probate. Instead, we take the approach of educating our clients. We teach them what probate is, what are the good things and the not so good things about probate? And let the client decide what is the best way forward. Probate is a court proceeding, so that means that everything that happe

Watch Carina de la Torre explain the difference between a will and a trust on YouTube. What is a will vs a trust? I think of the trust as a will substitute. A will says who gets what under what circumstances and who is in charge of making that happen. A trust does the same thing, but goes about it in a little different way. The critical difference between a will and a trust is when they become effective. A trust is effective on the day that you sign it. A will is not effectiv

Watch Carina de la Torre explain the estate planning process and what to expect on YouTube. How long does estate planning take? The estate planning process at our office will usually take between six to eight weeks. However, if you are expecting a baby, or if you going to be traveling internationally, we have ways to expedite that process for you. At our first appointment, you'll get to know us. We'll get to know you. We'll answer all of your questions, and we'll review the t

Watch Carina de la Torre explain estate planning costs on YouTube. How much does an estate plan cost? So this can really differ from attorney to attorney, and it's definitely an area where you get what you pay for an online DIY estate plan can cost as little as $20 but it can guarantee a lot of headaches and heartaches for the people that you love. So you want to find an attorney who's going to draft excellent legal documents for you, and think about what a complete estate pl

Watch Carina de la Torre discuss DIY estate planning risks on YouTube. Should I DIY my estate plan? Why shouldn't you do the estate plan yourself? In doing this full time, after working with many, many families, there's an important thing to consider, the unknown unknowns. These are the questions that you don't know to even ask, and if you don't know that they're out there, how can you create an estate plan that will answer it? That's actually the feedback we get most often f

Watch Carina de la Torre Discuss The 3 Biggest Myths About Estate Planning on YouTube. What are the three biggest myths about estate planning? In the time that I've been practicing law, I have found three main myths to estate planning. First, that all you need is a will, and if you've done a will, you're good. In fact, a will does not protect you during your life. A will only passes things after you've died, so if you are incapacitated or disabled in some way, a will doesn't

Watch Carina de la Torre explain what happens to your estate plan if you move to a new state on YouTube. What if I move? Let's say you've done your estate plan. You have everything in place, everything signed and notarized, and then you move. What do you do? Then the good news is that documents that we've helped you sign, witness and notarize are going to be good in any state. In the United States, you can travel, you can move, and these documents will continue to protect you

Watch Adriana de la Torre Discuss the Cost of a Federal Social Security Appeal on YouTube How much will a federal appeal cost? No generally, filing a federal appeal will not cost you anything. It didn't cost anything when you filed your original disability application. The Federal Court is a little bit different though. The federal court so not our office, and not Social Security, will request a filing fee. You can get that filing fee waived if the court finds that you have l

Watch Adriana de la Torre explain attorney fees in a federal Social Security appeal on YouTube. How will my attorney get paid? One great feature of this type of federal appeal is that there's nothing that you pay out of pocket for your attorney. Our office will only get paid if we're successful in your appeal. If we are, the court may approve us our attorney fee, this would be paid from the general litigation fund. This is money that Congress sets aside to pay attorneys who s

Watch Adriana de la Torre explain what happens after filing a reply brief in your case on YouTube. What Happens After Filing a Reply Brief? Hi, today, we filed the reply brief in this document. We reaffirmed all the reasons why we think that the judge got it wrong. Now the court has everything they need in order to decide your case. It is hard to predict how long it will take. Sometimes it takes three months. Sometimes it can take up to a year. I want to make sure that during

Watch Adriana de la Torre explain a disability case victory and what it means for your new Social Security hearing on YouTube. Victory in Disability Case! We did it! I am so thrilled to tell you that today we got notification that we won the case. The Federal Court agreed with us. They found that Social Security got it wrong, and you're going to get a new hearing. You're going to get an opportunity to prove disability all over again. This is going to be the best chance you ha

Are trusts only for the rich? You've probably heard that trusts are only for people who are rich or for people who have achieved a...

Watch Carina de la Torre explain what probate is and how the probate court system works on YouTube. What is probate? Probate is a court system. Every state has its own version. It's a set of rules that are followed for people who don't have estate plans or for people who have incomplete estate plans, the probate system will gather assets, identify beneficiaries, deal with creditor claims, and ultimately pass anything that's left to the beneficiaries. I describe probate as a w