Legacy Planning

Legacy planning is the process of planning for the disposition of your estate both while you are alive and after you have passed on. It would usually include the services of a good estate planning attorney to draft up the proper documents such as wills, durable power of attorney for health and assets, and trusts (revocable or irrevocable).
From experience, we know that not all estate planning attorneys are the same, neither in philosophy, competency, pricing, nor practice. We have learned that it is not necessarily a good idea to have your estate planning documents drafted for the lowest price. If you do not have a relationship with a good estate planning attorney, we suggest you interview at least three before you make a decision. We can help provide referrals.
We often suggest you consider getting a second opinion from another estate planning attorney for those who already have your estate planning documents. Why? Our experience is that many estate planning attorneys do not keep in touch with their clients after the initial documents. There are times when documents require an update due to changes in the law or changes in your financial or personal circumstances.
Normal life transitions (new jobs, lost jobs, births, marriage, divorce, illness, death, new business, sold a company) often require updating your estate planning documents.
We also suggest you consider a dress rehearsal of your passing with all of your family members present. It is essential to have your estate's agents, executors, or successor trustees at this meeting. We offer to meet with you, your family, and your attorney at your attorney's office to do a simulation. It would present what you need to consider if you or your spouse first pass away or if you should pass away simultaneously.
What should you do after a spouse passes away? What needs to be done by the successor trustees after both parents have passed on? What does a healthy spouse do when the other spouse becomes incapacitated? What do the agents for the durable power of attorney need to be aware of should one or both of their parents become incapacitated?
Some clients have more than enough money to meet their own needs, and they want to pass along as much money as possible to their children in the most tax-efficient manner. We assist families with tax-free legacy planning so that the beneficiaries pay no tax when they receive their inheritance.