PROBATE AND ESTATE PLANNING

ESTATE PLANNING

Structuring the plan to meet individual objectives…leaving a legacy.

The first step in estate planning is understanding the client's unique desires and concerns, and then determining the most effective and cost-efficient manner to transfer a client's assets to his or her loved ones. A living Trust is not suitable for everyone. Sometimes there are few assets other than beneficiary designated investments. In that instance, a simple Will coupled with a Durable General Power of Attorney over assets and an Advanced Directive For Health Care may be sufficient.

The majority of our clients do implement living Trusts to avoid the expense and delay of probate. Although minimizing estate tax is not as crucial a consideration after the enactment of the 2001 Tax Act, "A-B" Trusts are still effective to allow the first spouse to pass away to designate their own beneficiaries. For charitable planning, a Charitable Remainder Trust is often used.

We uniformly recommend that every client sign a Durable General Power of Attorney and Advanced Directive For Health Care to be used in the event of incompetency.

For young families, naming a guardian for young children is critical. Children named as beneficiaries of life insurance and other assets need the management the Uniform Transfer to Minors Act can provide in a simple manner.

PROBATE

Assisting the family to expedite the wishes of the deceased love one.

It is such a shame when someone puts off doing estate planning which could have saved thousands of dollars and months of time only to end up with Probate Court administration that could easily have been avoided. After a death has occurred, our approach is first to determine if a more rapid and cost effective manner of transferring assets than Probate administration is available. However, when a full Probate Court procedure is required, we act promptly from start to finish. Often we meet with out-of-town relatives shortly after a funeral to answer those pressing questions.

TRUST ADMINISTRATION

Implementation of the Trust is a crucial step in the process.

After the death of the person who created a Trust, the successor Trustee needs the advice of an expert to attend to legal requirements. The failure of a surviving spouse to properly divide and administer a family Trust after a spouse's death may result in unnecessary taxation.

CONSERVATORSHIPS

Planning for incompetence…the real way to preserve independence. Absent pre-planning for incapacity, the Court oversees care and protection of an incompetent.

Assisting clients facing declining health and abilities to take control through the use of Trusts, Durable Powers of Attorney, and Advance Directives is so positive. Without such advance planning, often it is the children who come to us because intervention by a Court is necessary to enable a Conservator to pay the bills and make personal decisions for an incompetent loved one.

GUARDIANSHIPS

Planning for incompetence…the real way to preserve independence.

Usually guardianships of the person of a minor child are obtained when parents are unable to provide a safe, secure home for the child. Where a child, even one who lives with one or both parents, inherits or receives property worth more than $20,000, a guardianship of the estate is required.