Estate Planning in Aliso Viejo and Orange County
Will Your Trust Work When Your Family Needs It?
A trust is paperwork. Planning is what makes it work.
Begin with your family, your assets and the decisions your plan needs to support. At the Law Office of James Burns, Risk Exposure Mapping helps organize the facts before we recommend the documents or changes appropriate to your situation.
Creating your first coordinated plan?
Discuss the people who should act for you, how important assets are owned, and the instructions your family would need.
Considering a full restatement?
Bring your existing plan and current priorities. We will discuss what has changed and the appropriate scope for further review and legal work.
Our Estate-Planning Briefing, formally called the Situation Readiness Briefing (SRB), is a focused meeting to understand your situation and discuss appropriate next steps. Further analysis, written reports and implementation require an agreed engagement scope.
Find Out Whether This Meeting Fits Your Needs
Start With Three Quick Questions
- Are you seeking a new foundational estate plan or a full restatement of your existing plan?
- Can you attend a meeting at our Aliso Viejo office? If you are married, can both spouses attend?
- Will you complete the required Risk Exposure Mapping Form before the meeting?
If that describes your needs, start with the short booking questions below. You can request a meeting before completing the full planning form. The completed Risk Exposure Mapping Form is required before the meeting. Our office confirms qualification, scope and availability.
Now booking December estate-planning briefings. Our office confirms qualification and availability.
Request Your Estate-Planning Briefing
Qualifying prospects seeking a new foundational estate plan or full restatement may receive a complimentary Estate-Planning Briefing. This meeting is for estate planning. We do not offer isolated one-off estate documents.
Asset-protection consultations are separate and cost $300 for 30 minutes. Business-succession and advanced-planning consultations are also billable and arranged through the office. If you are unsure which meeting fits, call (949) 305-8642. Alternative meeting arrangements require office approval.
If the calendar shows no available appointments, contact our office or call the number above.
General information only. An inquiry does not create an attorney-client relationship.
The Situation Readiness Briefing (SRB)
The Situation Readiness Briefing (SRB) is a focused planning meeting. We review your family, assets, existing documents and decision-making arrangements to identify exposure and the next steps that may be appropriate. Risk Exposure Mapping comes before a recommendation.
Document fees depend on the scope and complexity of the work. The office first confirms the appropriate consultation and any applicable meeting fee. After reviewing the facts, we explain the proposed engagement scope and fees before legal work begins.
The size of your estate is only part of the picture. A house, a business, or a beneficiary designation can create a problem that the trust document alone does not resolve.
We review the facts, identify the gaps, and explain the next decisions. The work follows three steps:
Step 1: Risk Exposure Mapping (SRB)
A focused meeting where we map:
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Guardianship and decision-making authority
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Asset titling and beneficiary designations
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Probate triggers and conflict points
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Liquidity, tax friction, and implementation gaps
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What must be protected, and who must be empowered
Step 2: Scope + Fee Clarity
Once the exposure picture is clear, we recommend the correct level of plan and provide clear fee ranges before work begins.
Step 3: Control Architecture + Implementation
If engaged, we prepare the agreed documents and coordinate signing and implementation within the engagement scope. Funding, beneficiary updates and ongoing administration also require follow-through.
SRB note: The estate-planning SRB is complimentary when you qualify and complete the required Risk Exposure Mapping Form. Other services are fee-based. Advanced estate-planning and asset-protection consultations are billable; the office confirms the applicable meeting before booking.
Deliverables
The SRB helps identify exposure and proposed next steps. Further diagnostics, written reports and implementation work require an agreed scope. An Exposure Map + Control Architecture Blueprint (EM-CAB), when included in the engagement, may address:
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Exposure Index (where risk concentrates across the four pillars)
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Control Architecture (the specific legal and operational controls to build)
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Control Build Queue (Immediate / Build / Lock)
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Evidence Required (what “done” looks like)
Onboarding Video (click)
Prepare for Your Meeting
Get the Current Risk Exposure Mapping Form
Complete the Risk Exposure Mapping Form
Use the current form linked above and complete the sections applicable to your family, assets, business and real estate. Follow the form's instructions and leave account numbers blank.
- Complete the applicable family and planning questions.
- Include business information if you own a business.
- Include real-estate information for property you own.
How to Fill Out SRB Questionnaire Video
Secure Upload – Submit Completed Questionnaire
Upload the completed questionnaire securely using the link above.
SRB meetings are generally held in our Aliso Viejo office. Bring the completed form or upload it in advance using the secure link. Alternative meeting arrangements require office approval.
Your Form Is Required Before the Meeting:
To keep the SRB productive, the SRB Questionnaire must be completed and uploaded in advance or brought to the meeting. If the required sections are incomplete, the SRB will be rebooked and rescheduled.
Without a complete fact pattern, any “plan” is guesswork. The questionnaire is the input that allows us to map exposures accurately, identify failure points, and design a control architecture that will hold up under pressure.
Preparation makes this efficient. When we have complete inputs, we can move quickly from uncertainty to a clear set of decisions and next steps. If you are missing a document, bring what you have—we will tell you what to obtain next.
Is This the Right Meeting for You?
This meeting is for people ready to review their family, assets, and existing arrangements before deciding what work is needed. A fee quote requires facts. Document reviews require time for analysis and an agreed scope.
Book the foundational SRB when you are ready to review the facts and consider a coordinated plan. Complete the required Risk Exposure Mapping Form before the meeting. For asset protection or advanced planning, contact the office to arrange the appropriate billable meeting.