Practice Areas

 

 

 

Cristy J. Carbón-Gaul focuses her New Mexico practice on probate and estate planning services. As an estate planning and probate lawyer, she helps her clients protect their assets and provide for the future through estate planning or business succession planning. Her legal practice areas also cover guardianship and conservatorship, estate planning for children, and trusts.

Contact Cristy today at cristy@carbon-gaul.com or call 505.899.5696. for your estate, family, or business planning needs.

Estate Planning Services

Estate planning is a comprehensive process that involves making arrangements for managing and distributing your assets in the event of your incapacitation or passing. It goes beyond just creating a will — it encompasses strategies to protect your assets, minimize taxes, and care for your loved ones.

Cristy helps her clients plan for their families by drafting estate planning documents such as:

  • Simple wills
  • Complex wills with testamentary trusts and special needs trusts
  • Durable General Power of Attorney
  • Durable Healthcare Power of Attorney with living will
  • Trusts
  • Transfer on Death Deeds
  • Limited Liability Company Organizational Documents

Trusts

Trusts are a sophisticated legal creation allowing you to pass on assets to a trustee. This trustee then holds and oversees these assets on behalf of the beneficiaries. It’s an influential tool for estate planning, safeguarding assets, and ensuring your wishes are fulfilled. With a trust, you gain the power to determine how your assets are allocated, lessen tax impacts, and secure your loved ones’ financial prosperity.

Cristy advises her clients on the creation of trusts. She provides clients with an analysis of the benefits and disadvantages of each type of trust.

Some of the trusts she has helped clients establish include:

  • Revocable trusts
  • Irrevocable trusts
  • Special needs trusts
  • Pot or pooling trusts
  • Charitable trusts.

Estate Planning for Your Children

Estate planning for children involves making crucial decisions to safeguard the well-being of your kids in the event of your incapacity or passing. Cristy can help you choose a guardian for your children.

Here are some situations Cristy can help you with:

  • You may wish to have different guardians for different children.
  • You might want a different person to serve as a trustee for your children to make financial decisions.
  • If you are divorced, you and the child’s other parent may disagree on the selection of a guardian.
  • Other issues that will arise when choosing a guardian.

Guardianship and Conservatorship

Conservatorship is a legal arrangement where a court appoints a responsible individual or entity to manage the financial affairs and personal well-being of another person who cannot do so themselves. It is typically established for individuals who are elderly, incapacitated, or have disabilities.

At the law office of Cristy J. Carbon-Gaul, we provide expert guidance on these matters, helping you navigate the legal complexities and ensuring the best interests of your loved ones are protected.

Cristy represents families:

  • Obtaining guardianship for their developmentally disabled children when they turn 18.
  • With incapacitated members who need a guardian and conservator appointed by the Court.

Probate

Probate is the legal process that occurs after a person passes away to administer their estate. It involves validating the will (if one exists), identifying and inventorying assets, paying debts and taxes, and distributing remaining assets to beneficiaries.

As a probate lawyer, Cristy specializes in the estate administration of these matters. It can involve:

  • Valuing
  • Selling
  • Distributing assets such as cash, real estate, or a business in accordance with the will.

If there is no will, estates are administered according to New Mexico probate law. In the event of contested or multiple wills, Cristy can discuss your options, whether it’s mediation and settlement negotiations or civil litigation.

If you need assistance in any of these areas, contact Cristy J. Carbón-Gaul:

The Law Office of Cristy J. Carbón-Gaul
10143 4th St NW
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87114
Phone:  505.899.5696
Email:  cristy@carbon-gaul.com