A properly prepared, executed and funded estate plan can acts as a hedge against the possible and a plan for the inevitable. It serves as a safety net for the future and a great aid for your family members and loved ones during what can already be a difficult time. With good planning, you can choose who will assist in taking care of your healthcare and financial affairs when you are no longer able to. Also, it can avoid or minimize that dreaded probate process. At its core, estate planning is about making arrangements for the management and distribution of your assets in  the event of your incapacity or death.

Confusion, delay and expense – and each state has laws governing what happens to your assets if you pass away without a will, which is probably not what you want. Not to mention the probate process which will become necessary to settle your estate, which can be costly, time-consuming and public. With planning, you can select who can make important decisions about your healthcare, who will manage your assets and pay your bills and who will receive distributions of your assets upon your death. Also, your estate can be settled privately and out of probate. 

Probate is the orderly management of assets which are in a disabled or deceased person’s name alone. This process can only take place in the court whose records, for the most part, are public. Although the system works to protect the interests of everyone involved, it is not only public but is also costly and slow.

First, one size does not fit all. Most estate plans would include a trust, Last Will and Testament, Durable Power of Attorney (financial), Health Care Power of Attorney, Advance Directive (or Living Will) and whatever other documents are necessary to properly “fund” the trust so as to avoid probate. However, while one of the primary purposes of creating a trust is to avoid probate, it may not be necessary or suitable for everyone. Ultimately, the decision of what to include in your estate plan depends on your own unique circumstances, goals and preferences.

The creation of a trust is like the creation of a small corporation. It is its own entity created to hold and manage assets for the benefit of designated beneficiaries and, although the creator might get disabled or die, the trust does not. Therefore, no probate. Wills, on the other hand, only have existence in the probate court.

Tax planning accomplished through estate planning would usually involve the Federal Estate Tax but could also include planning, which structures the estate assets, so as to limit income and/or capital gain taxes. For example, many clients nowadays have a substantial portion of their assets in tax deferred accounts such as IRA, 401 (K), 403 (B), pension or profit sharing plan. Proper estate planning maybe able to protect these assets after death so as to minimize income taxes.

Because estate planning is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor, the costs associated with it can vary depending on various factors. Our practice is to have a cost-free interview so as to analyze your situation vis-a-vis what your plan should include and to reach an agreement as to fees and costs before we begin. We find this makes everyone happier with the process.

A document granting authority for an individual to act on behalf of the person signing the document (“Principal”) to do such things as write checks on accounts of the Principal, direct investments, take distributions from IRAs or other tax deferred accounts or change titles to assets. Additional authority to make gifts or make estate planning decisions can also be included in a Power of Attorney document.

This will depend largely upon communications between our office and the client. There is information we need from clients before we can complete drafts, and it is not unusual that clients have questions or unique requests that may require additional discussion to complete. Typically, a basic estate plan can be completed in approximately 14 days.

Probate and trust litigation can take up to a year or more to finally resolve. It is not unusual in cases that we handle that a good deal of “discovery” must be done to determine the relevant facts through the obtaining of documents and testimony. It is also not unusual that one set of documents may raise issues requiring additional discovery. Each case is different, but if parties are not able to resolve disputes before a lawsuit is filed, the process can take some time.

Whether taxes will be owed on inherited assets depends  on a number of things. Included is whether tax was paid on the assets while the deceased owner was still living, whether the assets were sold after increase in value since the owner’s death and whether the total assets of the deceased owner are enough to require the payment of an estate tax (most are not).