Wills & Estates/Estate Planning

Estate Planning is a broad area of law and an important component of the newly emerging field of Elder Law.  In addition to simple things, such as a Will, a good Estate Plan contains other elements, things such as a Health Care Proxy, a Living Will, and an examination of your Insurance Policies and Coverage.  A good Estate Plan does not need to be complicated or expensive.   It merely needs to comply with the legal requirements and accurately express your wishes.  Ultimately, its purpose is to make things as simple as possible at a time when you and your family will have many more serious concerns and worries.

Below is a list and description of the most common documents and services our clients consider when forming an Estate Plan.  Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about Estate Planning or if you are considering forming an Estate Plan.

 

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Wills

A Will is a legal document that allows you, within certain limits, to decide who you want your property to go to when you die.   Whether you simply want to leave everything to a spouse or loved one with everything going to your children should that person predecease you or you desire a detailed will leaving certain things to certain people with various conditions to be filled or certain things to happen if certain events do or do not come to pass, we can help you.

Trusts

A Trust is a legal mechanism that allows you to give one person the benefits of having certain property without actually giving that person the property itself.  As an example, you might wish to invest some money and allow that money to be drawn upon to pay for a child or grandchild's education..  Or you may have a disabled child or spouse who you want to ensure is cared for in the event you no longer can care for him or her yourself.  Perhaps you have come into some money and want to establish a scholarship fund or provide an endowment to a group or institution whose work you admire.   Trusts can be used to accomplish an almost limitless number of things.  With our expertise, we can help ensure that your trust or trusts accomplish the things you want them to.

Life Estate Deeds

A Life Estate Deed is like a Trust for Real Property (e.g. a home).   For a variety of reasons, you may want to allow someone such as a friend or a relative to live in a house or apartment that you own without actually giving that person the house or apartment.   Or perhaps you own a rental property and you wish to give someone the income from that property without giving him or her the property itself.  Whatever the case may be, we can help you set up a life estate deed that will accomplish what you desire and comply with the law.

Living Wills

A living will is a legally binding document that allows you to state in advance your desires regarding certain end-of-life decisions.   In the event that you become terminally ill and lose the ability to communicate, a living will instructs both your doctors and your loved ones about what your wishes are regarding further medical treatment and makes it easier for them, both legally and emotionally, to comply with those wishes.

Health Care Proxies

A Health Care Proxy allows you to designate in advance a person you know and trust to make certain medical decisions for you in case you become seriously ill and unable to make or communicate such decisions yourself.  By creating a Health Care Proxy and discussing it with the person or persons that you designate, you can be assured that your wishes regarding your care will be carried out as you want them to be.

Insurance Reviews

An Insurance Review is an oft forgotten but essential part of Estate Planning.  Life Insurance benefits almost never pass as part of a person's estate.  Instead, they pass by contract to whoever you have designated as a beneficiary.  As circumstances change, you might remember to update your will and completely forget to change your beneficiary designation for any life insurance policies you might have.  Additionally, when your policy pays and how much it might pay can be confusing.  We can help you wade through the murky language and understand your policy clearly so that there are no unfortunate surprises someday and ensure that the benefits your policy provides go to the ones you want to have them.

Medicaid Planning

Though recent rule changes and new laws have made Medicaid Planning more complicated, it is usually still possible with good planning to shield some of your assets from Medicaid such that you can pass those things on to your loved ones.