Estate Planning

A Last Will and Testament allows you to specify how your property should be distributed after your death and who should be responsible for administering your estate.

Our attorneys assist clients with preparing Wills that reflect their family circumstances and estate planning goals. A Will may include provisions naming a Personal Representative, identifying beneficiaries, nominating guardians for minor children, addressing personal property, and establishing trusts for children or other beneficiaries when appropriate.

We can also review an existing Will and recommend updates following major life changes such as marriage, divorce, the birth or adoption of a child, the purchase of property, or changes in financial circumstances.

A trust can be an important part of an estate plan for managing and distributing assets during your lifetime and after your death. Trusts can provide greater control over how and when beneficiaries receive property and may also help simplify the administration of an estate.

Our attorneys prepare and review Revocable Living Trusts and other trust arrangements based on each client's circumstances. Trust provisions can address real estate, financial accounts, distributions for children or other beneficiaries, successor trustees, disability or incapacity, and long-term management of inherited assets.

We also assist clients with properly funding their trusts, including reviewing asset ownership and preparing deeds to transfer real estate into a trust when appropriate.

A comprehensive estate plan involves more than a Will or Trust. Our office can prepare additional documents that allow you to designate trusted individuals to make decisions and carry out your wishes if you become unable to do so yourself.

Depending on your needs, an estate planning package may include a Durable Power of Attorney, allowing another person to handle financial and legal matters on your behalf; a Health Care Proxy, identifying the person authorized to make medical decisions if you are unable to communicate those decisions yourself; and a HIPAA Authorization, permitting designated individuals to receive protected medical information.

We also assist with Funeral Directives to document wishes regarding funeral, burial, or cremation arrangements, and Hospital Visitation Authorizations to identify individuals you want to have access to you during hospitalization or medical treatment.

Our office can also prepare and review deeds as part of an estate plan, including deeds used to transfer real estate into a revocable trust or otherwise coordinate ownership of property with the client's overall estate planning goals.