Estate Planning
Estate Planning
Put simply, Estate Planning should be a plan for everyone you love and everything you have in the even of your incapacity or death. If you become incapacitated, who makes medical and financial decisions for you? If you die, what happens to your loved ones who need you, your property, your saved money, or your dependents?
Estate Planning cab answer all these questions in a clear and legal manner. Those who are incapacitated die without a plan will have decisions made in a long, drawn-out court process called Probate. Avoid probate. Sit down with us and create an Estate Plan. We will help and guide you.
Asset Protection
We don’t plan on being in a lawsuit. But, divorce, inheritance, health issues, car accidents, creditors, employees, theft, changing markets, malpractice suits, natural disasters, and disgruntled business partners are just a few issues that can result in lawsuits and loss. Set up your business and life to protect your assets. We can help you establish and maintain a business foundation that is protected from liability.
Long Term Care expenses are another financial predator most people do not anticipate. There are ways to protect some assets for your loved ones, even when Medicaid provides your Long Term Care.
Asset protection can include insurance options, prenuptial agreements, asset segregation, gifting, LLCs, partnerships, corporations, and asset protection trusts. Customized combinations are layered depending on the needs of the client.
Legacy Planning
You deserve to leave a Legacy. Planning for your death or disability ensures that you leave a Legacy for the people, institutions, and pets that you love. With careful planning and the guidance of an experienced attorney, you can show your love in a time of crisis by ensuring that your wishes are known and your “affairs are in order.”
Those who love you will appreciate the time and attention you spent making some of the hardest times of their lives more tolerable and predictable. We will guide you leave a Legacy.
Family and Personal Planning
Kids Protection Planning and Adult Guardianship
Most parents have not named legal guardians for their children in a way that works. For example, they have named guardians who are unavailable or have only named guardians in their will. If you have minor children, what is your plan if something happens to you- illness, death, removal? If you do not legally assign an appropriate guardian, who will care for your children if you are not available? Children’s Services and a Judge will be forced make that decision for you. Let us help you choose a guardian and make a Kids Protection Plan; this will give you peace of mind.
Many adults have not named guardians for themselves either. Whether through illness, injury, or mental decline, anyone can require a guardian (in some cases known as a conservator) to care for them if they become mentally or physically incapacitated. Without a proper plan in place, guardianship must be established through a Court process. Obtaining guardianship over a loved one can be challenging. We can guide you through the process of establishing guardianship and providing the requisite updates to the relevant Court.
Prenuptial Agreements and Dissolution
Marriage can be the most beautiful part of our lives. A partner can share life’s joys and hardships. Marriage can also be a challenge. Plan accordingly. Honest conversations about assets and the share of burdens in your household can make a marriage more secure. We can guide you through ways to protect assets and protect your spouse.
If you are ready to dissolve your marriage, we offer a collaborative and peaceful process.
Special Needs Planning
Planning for a family with special needs children comes with a complex set of financial, social, and medical issues. Ensure your child with special needs will be well taken care of when you’re no longer able to serve as the primary caregiver.
Many families with a special needs child set up a Special Needs Trust to help manage future expenses without losing essential government benefits and care. Every parent knows that planning needs to go beyond financial planning. Love ones with Special Needs need social emotional and medica support. Parents of Special Needs children are superheroes who often replace a village by themselves. We can help guide you through the process of planning for your special needs child when you can no longer care for them.
Elder Law
Long-Term Care Planning
Putting strategies in place is necessary to maximize the protection of your family’s assets from the cost of long-term care. Medicaid covers a huge percentage of Long Term Care costs for the elderly. It is a safety net for an expense that far exceeds average people’s savings for a medical service that is not covered by Medicare. There are ways to protect some assets for your loved ones, even when Medicaid provides your Long Term Care. There are also unexpected ways to pay for and plan for Long Term Care expenses. We can help guide you toward a plan that will work for you.
Elder Care
As Elder Law Attorneys, we help seniors take a holistic approach to legal issues that people commonly face as they age, especially with health, housing, financial well-being, and long-term care. We can help you plan for the transition from one home to the next.
Quality of Life
Communication is so often the key to ensuring that you or a loved one continues to have access to the things that bring joy. A comprehensive plan of care should include a conversation with loved ones about your values and about what matters to you as you age. Similarly, parents should document care plans for children and share their values with potential guardians. Legal Documents are vital, but we help guide you through the process of ensuring that those documents will work the way that you want them to.
Probate -
The easiest way to avoid the probate process is to plan, but if you are now in a situation where you must go through probate courts to finalize the estate of a loved one, the best thing you can do is to get help to complete the process as quickly, and cost-effectively, as possible.
We can help you through the process of estate administration. If you are a beneficiary of an estate, an executor, or trustee, we can support you in handling the transition of your loved ones’ assets as easily as possible.