Estate planning goes well beyond making a will. It involves decisions in many different areas, including the naming of a guardian for minor children and special provisions for mentally or physically disabled children, medical directives and other end-of-life considerations. We will advise you on how to minimize or eliminate estate taxes, how to best handle gifts or bequest to charities, whether a trust is right for your situation, and how to most effectively transfer ownership of a small business.

We will evaluate with you the pertinent estate issues – such as how you want your loved ones taken care of and assets divided, reducing estate taxes and probate costs, that impact your life and consider choices that you can then implement with your attorney.

Common questions that we can help address include:

• Are your beneficiaries up-to-date and will your plan transfer assets efficiently?
• Will taxes or probate costs unnecessarily reduce your estate?
• Have you legally appointed someone to make decisions for you if you are unable to make them for yourself?
• Are you concerned about possible conflicts among your family members after you are gone?

In the event of a death of one of our clients, we help the surviving spouse or other loved ones with the financial aspects of the probate process. Our aim is to minimize the costs and problems associated with preparing final asset statements and to coordinate tax and legal resources in the probate process. We also help with the paperwork and communications required for the transfer of assets.

It can be uncomfortable to think about death and its impact on the surviving spouse or other loved one, and the wealth that took a lifetime to build. But if you don’t set aside some time to plan, the government has a plan might not be to your liking. Once you put yourself in the driver’s seat, you’ll feel better.