Estate Planning services

We offer advice and guidance in establishing the right Estate Plan to meet your unique family circumstances. Call us at 1-800-969-7559 to schedule a no charge consultation 

or schedule an appointment under contact us if you are ready to begin the interview process to prepare your Estate Plan. 

 If you die without a Trust, even if you have a Will your assets are subject to PROBATE.  Probate is a court process where all your assets are under and control of the Probate Court and all assets are frozen until the conclusion of Probate which will be a minimum of 1 year or more.  The Probate Court proceedings are expensive and time consuming. To open a Probate matter costs approximately $10,000 and to add insult to injury the Probate Court will take a approximately 5% to 10% of the gross value of your Assets to pay the Probate Court,  Judge, Attorney and Executor, instead of all your Assets being provided to your beneficiaries, they get what is left at the conclusion of Probate Court.  Your beneficiaries will receive their inheritance according to the rules of intestate succession so you lose control as to naming your beneficiaries and also lose the ability to hold inheritance distributions until your beneficiaries are old enough to manage their inheritance wisely.   Don't let the Probate Court make decisions about your assets, keep CONTROL by forming a Trust. 

 A living trust is a legal document that states who you want to manage and distribute your property if you're unable to do so. It also dictates who receives your property when you pass away. Once a living trust is signed, you'll transfer ownership of your assets into the trust and remain in complete control of your property. Property in the trust can be managed and distributed without going through probate court. 

 A will is for property that may not have been transferred to your trust, such as personal property such as furniture, furnishing, art work,  jewelry, tools, and other assets that do not hold specific title. Our living trust includes a pour-over will to help ensure that all of your assets are distributed to your trust beneficiaries. It also includes legal guardianship of your minor children to prevent them from being placed in foster care if both biological parents are no longer living or have capacity. 

There are four main elements in an Advanced Medical Directive; a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care, Directive to Physicians, Healthcare Privacy Act Authorization to Release Medical Information “HIPAA”, and Organ and Tissue Donation Options.

Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care. A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care is a legal document naming health care advocates, someone to make medical decisions for you at times when you are unable to do so. Your advocate, also known as a representative agent, should be familiar with your values and wishes. This means that he or she will be able to decide as you would when treatment decisions need to be made. Having a health care advocate helps you plan for situations that cannot be foreseen, like a serious auto accident or illness.

Directive to Physicians. A directive to Physicians provides guidance about your medical care preferences in the form of a doctor’s orders. When you are near the end of life or critically ill and two (2) licensed physicians have determined you have no possibility of recovery, planning the specific decisions that might need to be made on your behalf now will allow you to stay in control of your medical decisions when you are no longer able to communicate your wishes. The Directive to Physicians serves as a medical order to make it possible for you to provide guidance to health care professionals and remove your loved ones from the stress and burden of deciding when to remove life support.

HIPAA Medical Release. Your medical records and medical information is protected under the Healthcare Privacy Act of 1996 which does not allow a doctor or hospital to release or discuss your medical condition with anyone including your spouse without a written release authorizing them to provide your medical information and condition to your health care agent. Without this authorization your information cannot be released or transferred to another doctor or hospital which may be needed in the event of an accident or illness to obtain a second opinion or move you to another hospital.

Organ and Tissue Donation. Organ and Tissue Donation allow organs or body parts from a generally healthy person who has died to be transplanted into people who need them. Commonly, the heart, lungs, pancreas, kidneys, corneas, liver and skin are donated. There is no age limit for organ and tissue donation. We suggest that you include organ donation in your advance care planning documents if you wish to be an organ donor.

We can assist with corporate transactions such as mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic partnerships.

If both biological parents are no longer living, the probate court will decide who will be the guardian of your minor children. The court will not automatically place children with a family member, even if they are a grandparent, aunt or uncle. Judges weigh placement based on the best interests of the children and a background check on the potential guardian must be conducted before your children are placed with a court appointed guardian. This means your children most likely could be placed in foster care until the court has made a ruling. If there is any contest by a family member as to guardianship, they must petition the court,  and your children could remain in foster care until the matter is resolved.

Legal guardianship of your children should both parents be unavailable to provide for guardianship and custody of their children due to death, illness, or a court order restricting custody is extremely complex.

The transfer of custody and guardianship of your children must be provided in your Will nominating the legal guardians for your minor children to protect them from Foster Care and a court of competent jurisdiction deciding who should raise your children.

The legal process can leave your child traumatized after the loss of a parent being separated from their home, family members, including their own siblings, school and friends, and leaving them to be raised by someone chosen by a court, instead of your choice of a guardian.

If you have a spouse, child, sibling, parent, or other loved one, who is physically, mentally or developmentally disabled—from birth, illness, injury or drug abuse they may be entitled to government benefits (Supplemental Security Income and/or Medicaid) now or in the future. However, most of these benefits are available only to those with very minimal assets.

Like many others, you may find yourself faced with a difficult choice. If you leave a inheritance to this person, they will be disqualified from receiving the government benefits which may be crucial for their care. On the other hand, you may not want to have to disinherit this person in order to preserve these benefits.

There is a third option. With a Special Needs Trust you can provide for a disabled child or other loved one, without interfering with their benefits.

The Special Needs Trust must be very specific in stating that its purpose is to supplement government benefits—that is, to provide only benefits or luxuries above and beyond the benefits the beneficiary (the disabled person) receives from any local, state, federal, or private agencies.

It is extremely important that the Special Needs Trust not duplicate any government provided services and that the beneficiary does not have any resemblance of ownership of the trust assets. Otherwise, it is very possible that the government would attempt to seize the trust assets for repayment of services provided or determine that the beneficiary does not qualify for future benefits because they have ample assets and income to provide for adequate care.

To make sure the beneficiary does not have any implied ownership in the trust assets, the Special Needs Trust must give the trustee complete control over the distribution of the assets and any income they generate. The beneficiary should not be able to demand any principal or interest from the trust.

As you can see, providing for someone with special needs takes more thought and is more complicated than providing for your other beneficiaries.

If your name is on the title to your assets and you become unable to handle your financial affairs due to temporary and permanent incapacitation who will conduct business for you? If you do not have a Trust appointing the person who will handle your affairs, a public hearing will be held and if you are found incompetent, a guardian/conservator will be appointed by the court, it may be your spouse, a family member, but the court can appoint a professional who does not know you.

The court will oversee the appointed guardian/conservator to protect your interests and make sure your assets are not squandered. However, this protection is not free or easy. It can become costly, time consuming and cumbersome with annual accountings, bonds, reports, ongoing determinations of incompetency, and fees for attorneys, accountants, doctors and guardians. All costs are paid from your assets, reducing the amount available to pay for your care, and court proceedings are part of the public probate record.

This court supervision of your assets and care usually lasts until you recover or die, which could be years. If you recover, you will have to prove your competency to the court. Most families prefer to handle these matters privately, outside the court system.

Planning Ahead for Disability or Incapacity through a General Power of Attorney for Management of Property and Personal Affairs prevents court control of your assets at incapacity, avoiding associated costs, delays and lack of privacy.

Gives you maximum control, privacy and peace of mind.