Many people feel that estate planning is an unpleasant and morbid subject. They put if off because they are too busy, because they think they don’t own enough assets to create an Estate Plan, or simply because they don’t want to think about the end of their life. Unfortunately, ignoring these issues today may cost your family thousands of dollars tomorrow. Proper estate planning takes far less time and effort than most people think, and the peace of mind you will get once it is completed is priceless.

A properly drafted Estate Plan will allow you to make decisions about the handling of your property and belongings, as well as the custody of your minor children upon your death. An Estate Plan puts you in control. Additionally, unforeseen disastrous circumstances can be handled according to your written wishes and instructions without costly and time-consuming court procedures. An Estate Plan addresses all of your concerns in advance, leaving no unanswered questions.

Whenever a person dies, his or her estate needs to be collected, managed, and distributed. Estate administration involves gathering the assets of the estate, paying the decedent’s debts, and distributing the assets that remain in the estate. In some cases, an estate may need to be administered in more than one state. Generally, the state in which the decedent resided at the time of death will be the state where the decedent’s estate is probated.

Probate proceedings can be informal, usually involving the filing of some basic paperwork, having the court appoint someone to manage the estate, paying the debts, distributing the assets, and having the court approve the distribution. The court’s role may never require a hearing, but only a review of the papers filed. Or, probate proceedings can be formal, usually required when a will is disputed. A formal proceeding involves more court oversight and usually requires one or more court hearings.

Are you considering establishing your own business? Before you can decide how you want to structure your business, you’ll need to know what your options are.

Do you already own your own business? If so, chances are you’re too busy running your business to think about your legal needs, until a crisis occurs.

Whether you are looking to start your own business, or already have a business up and running, Preovolos & Associates takes a proactive approach in helping our clients build and sustain success.

If an individual becomes unable to handle his or her own daily financial or medical affairs, someone else must step in to take care of things.  If the incapacitated person planned ahead and signed Durable Powers of Attorney for Finances and Health Care, the person named in those documents can take charge.  However, if no planning has been done, then the Court must appoint a Conservator or Guardian.

As a full service law firm, we look at the whole picture as it relates to your legal and financial needs. The areas of financial, estate and tax planning, and asset protection are uniquely related and a decision in one of these areas will have legal and tax implications on the others.

As a law firm with expertise in the protection of our client’s assets and planning to achieve financial goals, we integrate a full range of tax services including tax planning, return preparation, and representation before tax authorities. We also provide our clients with business planning, formation and compliance, accounting and auditing services.

More and more of our personal wealth is held in Pension Plans or IRA’s of various types. These often tax deferred vehicles lend themselves well to tax advantaged wealth accumulation. Similarly, these plans can provide significant business deductions and can play an important role in reducing corporate taxes.

Certain types of pension and welfare plans are governed by a federal statute entitled the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, commonly known as ERISA. Those plans that are covered by ERISA, or “Qualified Plans”, provide the added benefit of being virtually bullet proof to creditors.  This makes these types of plans very appealing for asset protection purposes.

Making sure that these plans are managed and maintained properly and in compliance with Federal law is crucial to their effectiveness. Most plans labor under some compliance failure which may have drastic consequences including, but not limited to, retroactive disqualification of the plan. We can help you evaluate your options and help recommend a plan that is appropriate for you or your company.

Personal disputes come in all forms and varieties from simple contract and landlord-tenant disputes to more complex shareholder and partnership disputes, business and consumer fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, employment actions, property disputes, and personal injury actions, to name a few.

When litigation is unavoidable, we approach it aggressively to obtain the best result possible in the shortest time at a competitive price.

At Preovolos & Associates, we routinely handle complicated legal disputes. While we can and do handle most litigation matters, our core practice areas include General, Civil, Criminal, Business/Corporate, Estate and Trust, Tax, and Immigration litigation.

Bankruptcy is a legal proceeding in which people who cannot pay their bills can get a fresh financial start.  The right to file for bankruptcy is provided by federal law, and all bankruptcy cases are handled in federal court.  Filing bankruptcy immediately stops all of the debtor’s creditors from seeking to collect debts from them, at least until their debts are sorted out according to the law. Bankruptcy, however, cannot cure every financial problem.  Nor is it the right step for every individual.

Offshore Planning necessarily includes the transfer or accumulation of assets in a jurisdiction outside your state or country of domicile.

It includes how to receive assets in a tax advantaged way from offshore efforts or business activities, how to transfer assets offshore and properly report the assets for foreign and domestic tax purposes, and it includes doing business offshore.

Offshore planning necessarily combines domestic and international Corporate, Estate, Tax, and Securities law, to name a few.

Offshore Planning is necessary and critical for those engaged in international business, those who want to be engaged in business offshore, or those who want to transfer assets between their state of domicile and an offshore jurisdiction.

We practice all aspects of Family Law in California. When you retain our firm, we will discuss the law with you and how it relates to your unique situation.

We will listen to you and develop a plan of action with realistic expectations. Frequently, negotiation is the most prompt and efficient means of reaching your goal.

Our Family Law Attorneys are experienced mediators and are very often able to amicably settle disputes through mediation. However, if settlement is not possible, we will pursue your case aggressively and effectively in Family Court.

Our lawyers help injured people recover losses and damages resulting from malpractice, negligence, unsafe products, and work injuries giving rise to workers’ compensation claims.

Our firm has experienced attorneys that will assist you through the process, from initial consultation through final settlement negotiations.

If you need assistance with a Personal Injury matter, we can assist you.

Please call our office to arrange an appointment with an experienced Personal Injury Attorney.

The firm’s dedication to our clients and cohesive criminal defense team atmosphere fosters superb results. We offer each client legal excellence, aggressive representation, honesty and integrity, innovation, superior client service, responsiveness, and compassion.

Having experienced, aggressive lawyers is particularly important in a criminal cases, where your liberty is at stake. Each criminal case requires a unique approach.

We methodically investigate, research, and prepare each case, then apply the instinct and sense of timing that comes only with experience. We are results-oriented, and fight to win.

With recent changes in immigration law and USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services), document processing, preparation of forms, and dispensing of advice should be handled only by an experienced Immigration/International Law Attorney.

Preovolos & Associates represents individuals and companies in immigration proceedings before the USCIS, U.S. Embassies, Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor.

In addition to obtaining temporary work visas and permanent resident status for foreign nationals, we can assist clients in becoming naturalized U.S. citizens, filing for political asylum, and solving problems with the USCIS or State Department that may have developed prior to our firm’s involvement.