With your individual needs and goals in mind, our office will tailor your estate plan so that it protects you, your family, and your property. Your estate plan may include a Living Trust, Last Will, Living Will, Durable Power of Attorney, and Declaration of Pre-Need Guardian. Other estate planning documents include contracts such as Buy-Sell Agreements, Post and Pre Nuptial Agreements.
Your estate plan will facilitate the distribution of your assets as you wish and minimize administrative costs and taxes. You will have peace of mind because we prepare your estate plan so that it will be extremely difficult for anyone to challenge it.
It is important to have a correctly prepared Will because it provides security to your family during a difficult time. Depending on your needs, a Will can be very basic, or more complicated. Our attorneys will explain the different options available for your specific situation, and customize your Will to ensure that it reflects your personal choices as to how your assets are to be distributed upon your death.
For instance, you may decide to create Trusts for beneficiaries (such as grandchildren) who are too young, or not sufficiently responsible, to receive all of their inheritance at once. You may decide to have provisions for the lifetime care of a cherished pet, or specific requests regarding funeral or burial arrangements.
A Living Trust is a document created not only to hold your assets while you are alive, but also to ensure that things run smoothly in case of disability, and to distribute the assets upon your death without the need for probate. As long as you are alive and not disabled, you will be in sole control of your assets. This document is also known as a Declaration of Trust, Revocable Trust, or Inter Vivos Trust.
For the Trust to be fully effective, assets need to be transferred to it. We will help you make these transfers in the most efficient and cost- effective way, and also provide advice as to how assets should be titled, and how beneficiary designations should be prepared.
Tangible personal property, such as jewelry, artwork, furniture and automobiles, are dealt with under the Will. For all other assets, the beneficiary under your Will is the Trust. The provisions regarding who receives which of these assets are in the Trust. Your Will may also name a Guardian for minor children.
A Living Will states that no extraordinary efforts are to be made if you have a terminal medical condition, with no reasonable prospect of recovery, and death is imminent. We will tailor your Living Will to reflect your needs and desires regarding your medical treatment in case of severe illness. A Health Care Surrogate should be prepared along with the Living Will. This document names a person to make medical decisions if you are incapacitated and cannot make those decisions on your own.
A Durable Power of Attorney is used to designate an individual to act on your behalf, in the event you cannot do so, to deal with banks, financial institutions, and real estate transactions, for your benefit.
A Declaration of Pre-Need Guardian is a document used to designate the person who will act as your Guardian in the event you become incapacitated, and a guardianship proceeding is needed for you