Estate Planning
What is Estate Planning?
Unlike our competitors, we view estate planning as a process, not a one-time preparation of legal documents. We get to know you and your loved ones, discover the role that each person plays and listen to your concerns and goals for the future. We then identify any issues and/or challenges that you face, and custom tailor your estate plan documents to meet your individual needs.
Our Estate Planning Services Include:
Preparation of Estate Planning Documents
Will: This document names your beneficiaries and what they are to receive, appoints a Personal Representative (formerly known as Executor) and names a guardian for your minor children (if you have them).
Durable Power of Attorney: This document names an agent to make legal and financial decisions for you if you are no longer able to make those decisions for yourself.
Health Care Proxy: This document names an agent to make medical decisions for you if you are no longer able to make those decisions for yourself.
Preparation of Trusts
Revocable Trusts: These trusts are most often used for probate avoidance but may also be used to reduce estate taxes and to protect assets for minor beneficiaries or beneficiaries with creditor concerns.
Irrevocable Trusts: These trusts are most often used in an attempt to protect assets from the nursing home and related long-term care expenses but may also be used for asset protection, estate tax reduction or elimination, and gift tax reduction.
Testamentary Trusts: These trusts are most often used by married couples to protect part or all of their estate from the nursing home and related long-term care expenses.
Special Needs Trusts: These trusts are used to leave assets to a beneficiary receiving governmental or charitable benefits without affecting those benefits.
Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts: These trusts are most often used to remove the death benefit of a life insurance policy from a client’s estate, thereby reducing or eliminating estate taxes.
Retirement Trusts: These trusts are used for pre-tax assets such as 401ks, IRAs and 403bs to leave assets to beneficiaries in a way that forces them to stretch the tax deferral on the account while offering them the creditor protection afforded by a trust.
Equine and Pet Trusts: These trusts are used to leave money in the hands of a Trustee for the benefit of a pet, to name a caretaker for the pet and to outline how you would like the pet to be cared for after your passing.
Charitable Trusts: These trusts are most often used for charitable giving (during life or after death) as well as estate tax planning and income tax planning.