Business Entity Guidance and Estate Planning

[Kelly Reynolds]

Hello BP community! Over the past year my husband and I have gone from owning no rental real estate, to now owning 6 properties with 4 more under contract, all single family homes. Once we close on the remaining contracts, we will have 5 properties in SW Florida and 5 properties in Baltimore, Maryland. We have been talking about setting up two LLC's, one in Florida and one in Maryland with each LLC holding 5 properties. However, I just listened to the Bigger Pockets podcast about asset protection and now I feel like we should layer a general partnership on top of that! In addition, we have been saying we are going to set up a trust for our personal assets and 3 kiddos, should the worst occur. Is there a particular type of attorney that can help with all of these things, without having to hire multiple specialists? Is there anyone out there who has set this stuff up on their own? My husband is a die hard do-it-yourselfer and I know his first response will be to want to figure it all out on our own.

I am looking for guidance on the type of professional we might need, recommendations for a specific individual near Dublin, CA, and any thoughts or feedback you all might have on trying to figure this all out ourselves.  Thanks for your time!