It is a topic that you may not want to think about, but a little bit of estate planning can go a long way in assisting you and your family during life’s most stressful moments. Whether your family situation is simple or complicated, and whether your expected estate will be large or small, we can help you to draft a will, create a trust, and get powers of attorney in place to ensure that your wishes are carried out, your family is provided for, and your estate administration is as easy as possible.

Wills

Everyone should have a Last Will and Testament. While the primary purpose of this document is to direct where your property will go after your death, it can also be used to state whether you want to be buried or cremated, who you would like to serve as the executor of your estate, and to name the guardian(s) for your minor children. Having a Will in place is a simple step that can bring great peace of mind to you and your family.

Trusts

You might be surprised to learn that a trust can be a useful estate planning tool for nearly everyone, and not only those with vast assets or complicated estates. Creating a trust can help you to avoid the hassle of the probate process (saving a lot of stress for your loved ones), to provide for the care of minor dependents or those with special needs, or to shield assets from creditors. We frequently assist our clients in drafting revocable and irrevocable trust agreements and in deeding real property to trusts.

Powers of Attorney and Other Documents

If something were to happen to you and you could no longer make decisions for yourself, who would be there to make those decisions for you? While you can always express your wishes to your family and friends, they will need legal authority to act on your behalf. We can prepare for you general or limited durable powers of attorney, healthcare powers of attorney, and advanced healthcare directives to make sure that all of your bases are covered.

Probate Administration

When a loved one has passed, many questions arise, including what must be done to get property of the estate into the hands of the heirs. We are available to provide legal advice and guidance to executors in navigating the estate administration process, from the initial filing of the Will, through the inventory of the estate and dealing with creditor claims, to the distribution, final accounting, and closure of the estate.