Put a thoughtful plan behind what matters most.
Clear, coordinated planning for your wishes, the people you trust, and the legacy you want your documents to support.
Planningismostlyaseriesofdecisionsaboutpeople.
Buildacoordinatedplanaroundyourfamily,assets,wishes,andthedecisionsthatmatterifcircumstanceschange.
Find the planning service that fits your priorities.
Browse foundational documents, probate avoidance, family planning, legacy goals, and business-owner considerations in one clear directory.
- WillsDocument how property should be distributed and who should carry out your wishes.
- TrustsExplore whether a trust fits your goals for management, privacy, distribution, or long-term planning.
- Powers of AttorneyName trusted decision-makers to handle financial and legal matters if you cannot act for yourself.
- Healthcare DirectivesRecord healthcare preferences and appoint someone to speak for you when you cannot communicate.
- Probate Avoidance PlanningConsider ownership, beneficiary, and trust strategies designed to reduce the assets that pass through probate.
- Legacy PlanningConnect your legal documents with the values, people, and long-term impact you want your plan to support.
- Planning for FamiliesCoordinate guardianship considerations, asset protection, and decision-making for spouses, children, and dependents.
- Planning for Business OwnersAlign personal planning with ownership interests, succession concerns, and continuity for a closely held business.
Not sure which documents you need? Begin with your goals and the team can help organize the planning conversation.
How a planning conversation is usually organized.
Planning engagements are generally structured along the lines below. The scope of any particular engagement is set with the client at the outset.
- 01Goals
Starting with what you want to happen
The first conversation is about circumstances and intentions: family, property, business interests, and the outcomes that matter to you. Documents come later.
- 02Document selection
Choosing what the plan needs
A plan can coordinate a will, one or more trusts where appropriate, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and beneficiary and ownership decisions. Which combination is useful depends on the goals identified.
- 03Naming people
Deciding who holds which authority
Personal representatives, trustees, agents under a power of attorney, healthcare surrogates, and guardians all carry real authority. Choosing them is usually the most considered part of the process.
- 04Signing
Executing the documents
Documents are signed with the formalities they require, and the people named are told where to find them. A plan nobody can locate does not do its job.
- 05Review
Revisiting the plan over time
Plans are worth revisiting after significant family, financial, health, property, or business changes, and whenever the people named are no longer the right choices.
How this practice is set up.
Estate planning sits alongside the firm’s injury and real estate work, which shapes how it approaches a plan.
A coordinated plan, not separate documents
Documents interact with each other, and with beneficiary designations and how property is titled. The point of planning is that those pieces agree.
Planning for families
Family planning can address guardianship considerations for minor children, provisions for dependents, and how assets should be managed or distributed among the people involved.
Planning for business owners
Owners of closely held businesses may need ownership interests, succession concerns, and continuity coordinated with their personal documents rather than handled separately.
The same office, and the same attorney
Where a plan touches real property, it can be discussed with the same office that handles the firm’s real estate and title work.
Questions people ask about planning.
What can an estate plan include?
An estate plan can coordinate a will, one or more trusts when appropriate, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, beneficiary and ownership decisions, and instructions for the people you trust. The useful combination depends on your assets, family, goals, and existing documents.
What is the difference between a will and a trust?
A will records directions that take effect at death and may name a personal representative and guardians for minor children. A trust can hold and manage assets under its terms during life and after death. The documents serve different functions, and the right approach depends on the full plan.
What does a power of attorney do?
A power of attorney is a legal document that gives another person authority to act on your behalf within the powers stated in the document. Because that authority can be broad and significant, the document and the person selected should be considered carefully for your circumstances.
What are healthcare directives?
Healthcare directives can record treatment preferences and identify a trusted person to make healthcare decisions if you cannot communicate or decide for yourself. The documents should be coordinated with the rest of the plan and made available to the people and providers who may need them.
When should an estate plan be reviewed?
Consider reviewing a plan after major family, financial, health, property, or business changes, and whenever the people named in the documents are no longer the right choices. A periodic review can also identify assets, beneficiary designations, or documents that no longer align with the overall plan.
How can planning account for families and business owners?
Family planning may address guardians, dependents, trusted decision-makers, and how assets should be managed or distributed. Business owners may also need to coordinate ownership interests, succession concerns, and continuity with their personal documents. These questions benefit from a plan built around the actual people and assets involved.
These answers are general information, not legal advice. Reading this page or contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. Rights, options, deadlines, and outcomes depend on the facts and applicable law.
Make the next planning conversation a clear one.
Colina Law can help you take stock of your priorities, understand the available planning tools, and decide what belongs in a coordinated plan.