Russell E. Griffith, APC

Russell E. Griffith, APC We provide a variety of Trust and Estate services. Our focus is on estate planning, trust administration and probate court matters. Mr. Rochelle and Mr.

THE LAW OFFICES OF ROCHELLE & GRIFFITH, LLP

Robert Rochelle and Russell Griffith are proud of their strong and long standing attorney-client relationships and their reputation of honesty, integrity and experience. Griffith provide the following legal services as a part of their practice:

Estate Planning: Living Trusts, Wills, Powers of Attorney, Advanced Health Care Directives, Trust Funding, Pr

obate Non-Trust Estates and Trust Administration. Litigation – Probate and Trust disputes, elder abuse, medical and nursing home malpractice and personal injury. Business Transactions – Business Contracts, Corporations, Limited Liability Companies, Buying/Selling Businesses. Real Estate Transactions – Commercial Sales/Purchases, Leasing, Easements and related contracts, Ownership Structures and advice on how to hold title real property.

I'm really pleased that our estate planning legal practice was voted a 2022 Neighborhood Favorite by our neighbors on Ne...
08/24/2022

I'm really pleased that our estate planning legal practice was voted a 2022 Neighborhood Favorite by our neighbors on Nextdoor. Thanks to Patti, Connor and Cynthia for all you have done to help us earn this recognition. A job well done. Thank's to all you satisfied clients and friends who have recommended our law office for estate planning services. Your kind words and confidence is sincerely appreciated.

Thank you Encinitas!   We are honored and humbled to have been voted as "Best Trust Attorney" by the readers of the Enci...
10/26/2021

Thank you Encinitas! We are honored and humbled to have been voted as "Best Trust Attorney" by the readers of the Encinitas Advocate. Thank you to our outstanding team: Patti Lochner, our office manager of 25 years; Connor Griffith, our legal assistant; and Cynthia Griffith our Notary. We look forward to many more years of service.

03/16/2020

Good Morning CALIFORNIA friends and family,

All adults should have an Advance Health Care Directive. This document allows you to appoint a trusted person (Agent) to make health care decisions for you if you are unable to express your own wishes.
I invite you to visit my website at RGriffithLaw.com and download a DIY version of this form for free. At the top right-hand corner (or center if looking on your phone,) there is a red button that says "ADVANCE HEALTH CARE DIRECTIVE PACKET". Click on that and you will find instructions, a blank form and a sample completed form in one packet.

Follow the instructions and sign in front of a Notary, or two adult witnesses. (*Note at least one witness must sign twice declaring they are not related to you or stand to inherit anything from you.)

Make sure your Agents, (those people who you have picked to make healthcare decisions for you) have a copy of this form.

Also, bring the form with you for any hospital stays or surgeries. You can also give the form to your hospital to keep on file. *Note that this is a CALIFORNIA FORM FOR CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS ONLY. NON-RESIDENTS WILL HAVE THEIR OWN STATE-SPECIFIC FORM.

Wishing you good health and happiness.

Rusty Griffith

https://www.rgriffithlaw.com

Located in the  Village Park neighborhood of Encinitas, we provide peace of mind through personalized estate planning.  ...
05/17/2019

Located in the Village Park neighborhood of Encinitas, we provide peace of mind through personalized estate planning. We also assist trustees with the administration of trusts and with probate matters.

I had the opportunity to speak at the Encinitas Business Exchange yesterday. Some "good news" that I shared was that by ...
03/28/2019

I had the opportunity to speak at the Encinitas Business Exchange yesterday. Some "good news" that I shared was that by not planning ahead for the disposition of their estate on passing through a comprehensive Trust and Will, the State of California has a plan that will decide who gets what and when. It's a costly plan that often involves the probate courts. YIKES! YOU CALL THAT GOOD NEWS? Most would agree that it is not a good idea to let the State decide much of anything yet alone one's estate planning. If you agree, give me a call to set up a complementary meeting to discuss how you and your family can have peace of mind through a personalized estate plan. Feel free to call me at 760-944-9901 to set an appointment.

I had to file some paperwork in the Probate court and then record some trust grant deeds.  Pretty great view from the Co...
09/28/2018

I had to file some paperwork in the Probate court and then record some trust grant deeds. Pretty great view from the Country administration building.

Soon approaching that time when we contemplate New Years resolutions. A gift to yourself and your family would be to res...
11/29/2017

Soon approaching that time when we contemplate New Years resolutions. A gift to yourself and your family would be to resolve to get your estate planning in order. Not on the usual top 10 but I guarantee it will be easier than most others on the list! We provide new complete estate planning services, review and edit existing plans and we handle probate cases where there was a failure to plan. Free initial consultations available. Call Rusty Griffith @ (760) 944-9901.

01/05/2017

A GREAT CLIENT GIFT: I just had some clients come in to meet about their estate planning. When I got to the lobby to meet them she announced that "My husband woke up sick - we would like to reschedule rather than risk getting you sick". THANK YOU!

01/01/2017

HELPING WITH NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS: Over 30 years of helping with New Year's resolutions! No, I'm not going to count your calories or clean your garage. But we do offer comprehensive estate planning services and can help get that plan done or updated and checked off the list. Happy New Year everyone!

12/15/2016

SO YOU'RE A TRUSTEE - WHAT'S NEXT? Your friend or family member named you as their Successor Trustee. Big honor, right? While it means they trusted you above all others, it also means that you are now saddled with tremendous responsibilities not only to follow the directions of the Trust instrument but also California law. There can be civil liability if you don't. Still honored?

In addition to drafting new estate planning documents and amendments, our office assists Successor Trustees with Trust administration issues and in keeping the Trustee on track following the directions in the Trust and California law.

Please feel free to contact attorney Russell (Rusty) Griffith of Rochelle & Griffith, LLP for more information. Tel: 760-944-9901.

Some thoughts on being a Trustee - Help Available!
02/13/2016

Some thoughts on being a Trustee - Help Available!

SO YOU'RE A TRUSTEE - WHAT'S NEXT?  Your friend or family member Named you as their Successor Trustee.   Big honor, right?  While it means they trusted you above all others, it also means that you are

Address

1991 Village Park Way, Ste 105
Encinitas, CA
92024

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+17609449901

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THE LAW OFFICES OF RUSSELL E. GRIFFITH, APC

Russell “Rusty” Griffith is proud of his strong and long standing attorney-client relationships and his reputation of honesty, integrity and experience. Rusty provides the following legal services as a part of his practice: ESTATE PLANNING: Living Trusts, Wills, Durable Powers of Attorney and Advanced Health Care Directives are critical elements of an estate plan. While most adults should have some form of an estate plan in place, for one reason or another this important family and asset management planning tool is often overlooked. With over 30 years of experience, Russell Griffith can help you get your estate planning in order. Our goal is to make this process as easy as possible on the clients so that this important “to do” item can get checked off. No preparation is necessary, just the scheduling of an appointment gets the process going.

TRUST ADMINISTRATION: A Trust is created by a Trustor (Settlor) and managed by a Trustee. On the death or incapacity of a Trustor and/or a Trustee, there are multiple actions that must be timely taken under the law and under the terms of most Trusts. We coach and assist Trustees in understanding their obligations under the law and the terms of the Trust and help them fulfill their duties. A Trustee must answer to the beneficiaries of the Trust and must account for all of their activities in administering a Trust. As a result, it is important that from moment one takes on the duties as a Trustee that they know and understand their obligations. Meticulous documentation of the handling of assets and payment of liabilities and taxes is required. Protecting the Trustee from liability is of utmost importance as with any Trust administration there are penalties for failing to abide by the law and the terms of the Trust.

PROBATE COURT: When one passes without a Trust, even if they have a Will, in most cases where assets exceed $150,000 a Court supervised proceeding called a “Probate” is required to administer a decedent’s estate. The Court will formally appointed an Administrator (Executor) and give him or her legal authority to wrap up a decedent’s affairs and distribute assets. This is an expensive, time consuming and avoidable proceeding when properly using a living Trust. Where there was a failure to plan with with a Trust, we assist clients through multiple Probate court proceedings and filings and other administrative activities required to wrap of the affairs of a decedent.