Modern Day Estate Planning That Protects Your Dreams For Life
Solid. Savvy. Secure.
Our holistic estate planning model offers solid estate planning focusing on protecting everything that is important to you. We believe in educating our clients on ways to maximize their asset protection, estate taxes, and quality of life. We work closely with a team of financial, real estate, and tax professionals to deliver savvy and solid options for every estate plan we customize.
Our modern day approach organizes our clients' estate plan documents into our secure virtual vaults and client portals so they can be accessed anywhere at any time.
Choosing the right law firm is important for any area of law, but crucial for estate planning. We're with you for life. Every season. Every milestone. Every family becomes part of our family.
Wills
Instructions for the probate court.
Who needs a will? Everyone. Especially if you have minor children.
Without a will, the probate court will divide your assets according the intestate succession statutes. Wills form the base of any solid estate plan. They are the set of instructions the court and your family will have at your death.
If you have children, you need a will to designate a guardian over your children and the property they are to inherit.
Since you have many options when making a will, working with a skilled estate planning lawyer is crucial to create an effective document. With a will in place, you can pass your estate to beneficiaries and select an executor.
Keep your will updated.
Codicils, amendments and/or restatements to already existing wills are important. An old will that does not reflect your current wishes or loved ones can actually cause more harm than good in probate code. If you already have a will, contact us to have it updated.
Trusts
Estate management without probate court.
Does everyone need a Trust too? No. These are complicated and sophisticated legal documents that should be crafted by a knowledgeable estate planning lawyer who can help you draft one customized to your specific needs.
The most common types of trusts our clients need are:
Living trusts bypass probate court and put your trustee in charge of the assets in your trust right away. This can keep the distribution process private and make it less expensive and complicated. The trustee manages your assets until your beneficiaries reach a certain age. There are also management options for children or adults with special needs. Living trusts also allow your trustee to manage your estate during your lifetime if you become incapacitated.
Irrevocable Trusts make sure the assets placed into the trust cannot be recalled, reversed, changed, or withdrawn. When you create an Irrevocable Trust, you are transferring the rights of ownership for any listed assets. These are not for everyone and practical for very specific situations such as:
Insulating assets from Nursing Home care/Medicaid
Planning for charitable gifts
Reducing Estate Taxes
Controlling gifts to beneficiaries
Planning for special needs
Children/Grandchildren with drug abuse issues
Irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILIT) have many variations, but generally it is an irrevocable trust that purchases a life insurance policy on the life of the grantor. The grantor makes gifts to the trust in order to pay for the insurance premiums. The main benefit of an ILIT is that when grantor dies, the value of the life insurance policy is not included in his gross estate (as it would be if grantor paid for the premiums directly)
If I have a trust, do I still need a will? Yes. Every Trust Package we draft includes a corresponding will or set of wills for married couples along with Powers of Attorney, Advanced Healthcare Directives, and HIPPA release forms.
Powers of Attorney
Protection in the face of illness or injury.
A durable power of attorney allows another individual to make legal and financial decisions on behalf of someone else. This power is often necessary in cases where an individual has become incapacitated through illness or injury and cannot make their own legal and financial decisions. An agent makes certain financial and legal decisions for the principal. In most cases, the principal must name an agent before becoming incapacitated or mentally unfit. In other cases, the principal becomes unexpectedly incapacitated and loved ones must take action to ensure legal and financial decisions are made.
Depending on your needs, we can help you create any of these:
Durable financial power of attorney
Durable power of attorney for health care
Financial institution power of attorney
General financial power of attorney
Limited (or special) power of attorney
Military power of attorney
Power of attorney for child care
Do I need a power of attorney if I'm married? Yes. Being legally married does not automatically grant your spouse legal authority to make decisions on your behalf.
Do I need a power of attorney for my small business? COVID-19 has shown us how crucial this basic planning can be for all small business owners. In most cases, if you become incapacitated or quarantined, your business operations will not be able to proceed "as normal" without the proper designations made to your agent or agents.
Advance Healthcare Directive
Instructions for your healthcare team.
Empower your family and your healthcare team with clear instructions.
If you are ever incapacitated or unable to speak for yourself, an advance health care directive ensures that your health care providers follow your wishes. It also ensures your family members are not left to guess and don't have to take on added stress or guilt as they care for you.
We get the details on paper so you don't have to and help you plan for directions that may otherwise be overlooked such as:
Medical treatment options
Pain management
End of life decisions
No not resuscitate (DNR)
Organ donation and limitations
Last rights
Burial preferences
Religious ceremony preferences
Celebration of life instructions
Business Succession Planning
Protecting the legacy of every entrepreneur.
Seeking the help of an estate planning attorney is especially important for business owners. There needs to be a plan in place that details how the business is to be handled in the event of your death. If you wish to transfer your interest in a small business to your children or even co-workers, we can help.
This is a complex area of law that generally will involve revocable living trusts, irrevocable life insurance trusts and amending operating (or shareholder) agreements. No two small-business transition plans will be the same because every small-business owner wants to divide up control, ownership and income payments differently.
Working with a team of your accountant and insurance representative, we can tailor an estate plan according to your family’s needs.
Want to know what YOUR family needs in place?
Take our free stress test today and see.
After you take our test, we will review it and reach out to you to go over a plan tailored for your family's needs during our free consultation.
Congratulations, you just took the hardest step to secure your dreams for life. Starting! Let us take it from here and make the process simple and straightforward.
Does your estate plan meet the money milestones required for maximum protection and wealth building?
Take the How Money Works test
today and see.
After you take the test, submit your score and one of our trusted financial partners will review it and reach out to you for a complimentary financial needs analysis.