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Estate Plan Reviews & Updates in Long Beach, California
A plain-language check of the plan you already have, and whether it would actually work today.
An estate plan review is a structured check of your existing trust, will, and powers of attorney to confirm they still reflect your wishes, comply with current California law, and, most importantly, that your assets are actually titled so the plan will work. Most estate plans should be reviewed every three to five years and after any major life change.
At Lungu Law Group, we review plans drafted by other attorneys, plans created online, and plans that have simply sat in a drawer for years. We tell you plainly what's working, what isn't, and what to do about it.
Who We Plan For
what we look for in a review
your documents
Trust, will, powers of attorney, health care directive, and any amendments. Are they complete, signed, and properly executed? Do the distribution terms still match your wishes? Are the people you named still the right people? And does the trust include the protections a modern California trust should? For example, if one of your children is going through a divorce, we can make sure what you leave them stays theirs.
where most plans fail
your assets and how they're titled
This is where most plans fail. We review how your real estate, bank and brokerage accounts, retirement accounts, life insurance, and business interests are titled and who the beneficiaries are. An asset that should be in the trust but isn't may go through probate, no matter what your documents say. If we find a brokerage account that was never moved into the trust, we give you the exact form and wording your custodian needs, or handle it with you on a call; you won't be sent off to figure it out alone.
changes in the law
Federal estate and gift tax rules, California's Proposition 19 property tax reassessment rules for parent-to-child transfers, retirement account distribution rules, and California probate and trust law all shift over time. We check whether any changes affect your plan.
changes in your life
We ask about what's different since you signed, because the plan should reflect the family and the assets you have now, not the ones you had then.
You'll leave the meeting knowing exactly how your plan is set up, how it would work today, and what your next steps should be.
You'll leave the meeting knowing exactly how your plan is set up, how it would work today, and what your next steps should be.
How it works
1
Free 15-minute call
A quick, no-obligation call to answer your questions and confirm we're the right fit.
2
Pre-session worksheet
Who's in your family, what you own, who you'd want in charge. About 30 minutes.
3
Planning Session
Up to two hours with Deanny. What would happen today, and how to plan around it.
4
One flat fee
Quoted before we draft anything. No hourly bills, ever.
5
Drafting and review
Every document explained in plain language before you sign.
6
Signing meeting
Sign, notarize, and understand. Family members you choose are welcome.
7
Funding the trust
We help move your home and accounts into the trust and align beneficiary forms.
8
Three-year reviews
Complimentary, for as long as your plan is with us.
If you'd rather learn before you book, we host educational events from time to time. Ask us about the next one.
a note on plans from other Attorneys and online services
plans from other attorneys
We don't review other attorneys' work to find fault. Plenty of plans we see are well drafted; they've just been outgrown, or never funded. Our job is to give you an honest assessment and a clear path forward, not to sell you a new plan you don't need.
online and do-it-yourself trusts
Online and do-it-yourself trusts deserve a special mention. They are often generic, sometimes unsigned or improperly notarized, and almost never funded. If you created your plan this way, a review is one of the most valuable hours you can spend.
Each of these are avoidable
Frequently asked questions
Since 2021, a home passed to children is reassessed to market value for property tax unless a child moves in and claims it as their primary residence within a year, and even then only part of the value is protected. On a long-held Long Beach home, that can mean a property tax bill several times what you pay now. Not everything is fixable, but a review tells you what is, and your trustee has a deadline to file the exclusion claim. Older trusts were written before Prop 19 and usually say nothing about it.
Most of the work happens before you arrive: Deanny reads your entire trust and will, checks the recorded title on your home, and reviews how your accounts are held. The hour with you is the conversation about what she found. You leave with written recommendations you can act on with us or on your own.
Every three to five years, and immediately after a major life event such as marriage, divorce, a birth, a death, a new home, or a business change. Laws also change; Proposition 19 in 2021 changed how inherited homes are reassessed for property tax, and many older plans have never been adjusted for it.
An amendment changes specific provisions and is attached to your original trust. A restatement replaces the entire trust document while keeping the original trust's name and date, so you don't have to retitle your assets. We recommend a restatement when there are several changes or the original document is outdated.
Generally, yes, but it may not be well suited to California. Real estate you've acquired here may not be in the trust, and provisions written for another state's law may need updating. A review will tell you.
The recorded deed must name the trust, or you as trustee of the trust, as the owner. If you refinanced, the lender may have required you to take the home out of the trust, and it may never have gone back in. We check the recorded title as part of your review.
Yes. The review stands on its own. You'll leave with a clear understanding of your plan and written recommendations, and what you do next is up to you.
Let's build a plan that works for the life you've built
Start with a free 15-minute call. No obligation, and we'll tell you exactly what the next step would be.