Wills, Trusts & Estates

We enjoy working with clients seeking to put their estate planning affairs in order, as well as clients looking to update existing estate plans (due to changing circumstances, family dynamics or changes in law). We also enjoy working with adult children of older clients to assist their parents with matters. We also enjoy assisting families with estate settlements, whether it is in probate court, or through a trust vehicle, and can assist in any court dispute concerning such matters.

• Estate Taxes & Gift Taxes
• IRS Disputes
• Negotiating IRS Payments & Settlements
• Power of Attorney
• Property Taxes
• Tax Planning

• Charitable Giving
• Charitable Trusts
• Drafting Trusts
• Drafting Wills
• Estate Administration
• Estate Planning
• Living Trusts
• Living Wills
• Probate

CA, Dec 1994
Bar Number: 175408

State of California; U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

California State Bar Association; Los Angeles County Bar Association

I complete all of my hours; I try to focus on my practice area.

My clients come from every possible kind of family structure, from married couples and domestic partners, to single individuals. Many of our clients have children, and many of the older clients have grandchildren. The family structure of my clients may include children, step-children or adopted children, and may have concerns for caring for troubled or disabled family members. Many of our clients are the children of previous clients who have passed away and have decided to continue using our services after assisting them with settling their parents' estate.

Most of my estate planning client base is in the broad category of middle class, with assets in the $500,000 to $5,000,000 range. The majority of clients own their home, and many have more than one property. We have many clients who have small, family-owned businesses and many retired professionals.

3

California

Our firm derived from our patriarch, Charles T. Schofield, who began a solo practice in the early '90s after some years in other firms. I joined Mr. Schofield in 2000 and we added another partner in 2005. Since inception, we have provided estate planning, probate, tax and estate settlement services to our clients. We also provide business legal services and a broad range of other transactional matters.

I began my legal career doing product liability and medical malpractice defense for the firm of Herzfeld & Rubin in Century City, California, where I previously worked as a paralegal prior to attending law school. I also later did plaintiff business litigation for the firm. During some firm down-sizing in the late 1990s, I struck out on my own with another lawyer to form our own partnership handling general litigation matters. Unfortunately, with a lack of paying clients, my partner and I went our separate ways. I was lucky to get myself out of litigation and join forces with Mr. Schofield in his practice in 2000 (we actually had met as opposing attorneys on a matter), and I have been here ever since.

None

Anna Torres

(626) 578-0244

Monday through Friday
9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Emergency hours on a case-by-case basis.

Yes

Spanish (Staff)

Basic, non-complex estate plan for a single person is $1,500 and for a married couple is $2,500. Flat fee includes: Revocable Living Trust, pour over will, Advance Health Care Directive, Durable Power of Attorney for Asset Management, HIPAA Authorizations, Assignment of Assets to Trust, and transfer deed to trust for one parcel of California real property, and general instructions for transfer of assets to trust.

More complex plans, and estate or trust settlement matters will be based on an hourly fee (however, a negotiated flat fee is available on a case-by-case basis).

My current hourly rate is $250/hr.

We will generally provide one hour of free consultation for new clients.

For flat-fee services, the retainer is 1/2 of the quoted price.

This depends on the scope and nature of the representation. The retainer will generally range from $500 - $5,000.