Alice J. MacAllister:
An Estate Planning Attorney for San Jose
Estate planning is no easy task. You need a good lawyer on your side, one who has worked for decades dealing with the most complex estates. In my 24 years as an estate planning attorney, I have learned how to deal with every eventuality and unexpected circumstance down the line. If you need help in any of the following areas, come on down to my office in Santa Clara County, California:
▪ Trusts: Legal advice from a good attorney is vital when setting up a trust. Too many people do not understand the numerous personal and financial advantages of trusts, but I have accumulated enough expertise to teach classes on the subject. I can determine whether you need a revocable living trust, an irrevocable life insurance trust, a special needs trust, a conduit trust for retirement assets, a pet trust or any other type of trust. I can also re-work existing trusts to suit clients better. I have obtained court orders modifying irrevocable trusts when the original trust was poorly drafted or did not represent what the client intended or there were changed financial circumstances.
▪ Wills: To avoid later problems, a will must be carefully drafted by an experienced professional so as to avoid will contests and other unforeseen obstacles to proper distribution.
▪ Powers of Attorney: encompassing financial powers of attorney, advanced healthcare directives, and more.
▪ Beneficiary Designations: These must be coordinated with your other estate planning documents to achieve a total plan. The planning is often different for retirement assets than for other assets governed by beneficiary designations such as life insurance.
▪ Trust Funding Documents: Having a trust will not keep you out of probate unless you are sure to transfer title to your assets to your trust. I educate my clients on how to keep their trust funded and prepare documents such as deeds, assignments, certifications of trust to enable assets to be easily transferred to trust.
But this is only a sampling of the some of the elements involved in good estate planning. There are many kinds of assets, and many ways to arrange them. It takes a lawyer with a keen ability for analytical problem solving to solve the "puzzle" involved in each case. I have that ability, providing each of my clients with personally tailored and fully effective strategies every time.
Doing superb estate planning also requires a personal touch. I enjoy taking the time to get to know my clients personally, and good communication also helps me plan their estate in a way that best suits them. I believe that being a good lawyer is more than having the right knowledge and filing the right papers. It's also about letting people rest easy by solving their problems and making sure the client’s personal objectives for their loved ones are accomplished by the plan. I prefer to work on estates worth $6 million or less for the everyday people of California.
From my office in San Jose, CA, I can help anyone in Santa Clara County, Cupertino, San Mateo County, Silicon Valley, Sunnyvale, and Los Gatos. Contact me immediately and benefit from my experience, affordable rates, and personal touch.
Alice J. MacAllister, Attorney at Law
Third Floor
1700 The Alameda
San Jose, CA 95126
Phone: (408) 293-9223
Fax: (408) 971-4320
