Estate Planning
Estate planning is the foundational practice area of my firm. Estate administration, trust administration, tax planning, contested trusts & estates, and business formation all have their roots in estate planning.
Whether you are single, in a committed relationship, married with a young family, empty-nesters, widowed, or divorced, estate planning begins with a conversation about your needs and goals for the future. This conversation involves your current financial picture, so coordinating with your advisors for information gathering purposes can be expected. By honing in on your unique needs, goals, and financial picture, we can begin crafting your estate plan.
The basic components of an estate plan include a Will, Revocable Trust, Power of Attorney, and Health Care Directives. A review of the estate plan and fine-tuning of the documents is often needed for the ideal estate plan for your family. Fine-tuning involves a deeper dive into discussions on how we can build your plan to provide security for your love ones in the years ahead and transfer wealth in a manner that is both tax-efficient, and protects future generations from creditors and predators. It is my job to educate you in the legal aspects surrounding your plan so that you are empowered to make the choices that are right for your family.
Executing and implementing your estate plan is not the final step. A well drafted estate plan also includes re-titling your assets and further communications with your advisors. This ensures that your assets titling does not conflict with your plan and instead provides for a smooth transition of wealth when the time comes. Finally, my firm will make sure to keep you abreast of tax law changes that affect your plan in the coming years. We will remain available for future adjustments to make sure that your plan continues to mature naturally along with your family's needs.
Specifically, my firm can assist with:
- Preparing a Will that names your executors, names guardians for your children (if needed), and may either distribute your wealth to your beneficiaries directly, or pour your estate assets into your revocable trust.
- Preparing a Revocable Trust that names your trustees, provides for long-term or short-term wealth management, assists with probate avoidance, provides for the tax-efficient transfer of wealth, and can protect future generations from creditors and predators.
- Preparing a financial Durable Power of Attorney that names an agent to act on your behalf while you are living but are unable to take action for yourself (whether due to unavailability or health limitations).
- Preparing a Health Care Power of Attorney that names the agents that can act for you when you are unable to act for yourself (whether your inability is due to unconsciousness or health limitations).
- Preparing a Living Will that names the contacts that should be called in the event of an end-of-life situation and directs your physicians on how you want them to proceed with your care.
- Preparing a HIPAA authorization naming those individuals that you want to have access to your protected health information.
- Preparing documentation and guidance for succession planning of privately-held businesses.
- Preparing irrevocable trusts such as Gift Trusts, Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts, Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts, Charitable Remainder Trusts, and Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts for more aggressive tax-efficient planning and charitable goals.
- Preparing Premarital and Postmarital Agreements that provide for the division of separate and marital property in the event of termination of marriage due to divorce or death.
- Preparing Cottage LLCs for vacation properties held by families.
- Preparing advanced income tax, estate tax, and gift tax returns.
- Providing strategies for asset protection, tax minimization, and probate avoidance.
