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Estate Planning

Wills

Most individuals will have their estate planning needs met by the careful crafting of a Will. Developing appropriate provisions for guardians (if you have minor children) or having a testamentary trust (to manage your minor child's assets after you pass on) is crucial to your estate plan. We recommend that you have your estate plan reviewed every ten years or whenever you have a major life change such as retirement, marriage, or divorce.

Trusts

Trusts have the advantage of avoiding the probate process, helping to avoid inheritance taxes in certain circumstances and also by keeping your estate planning out of the public record. However, there are other disadvantages to having a trust such as increased cost, and more active management of your assets – if you do not properly fund your trust then the value that you paid for setting up your trust could be lost. We will help you evaluate your estate planning needs and make an appropriate recommendation based upon your particular circumstances.

Probate

Probate is a court supervised process for winding up a decedent's estate. This process includes gathering up all of the decedent's assets and then paying off estate debts if any. The remaining estate assets are typically split up between the heirs of the estate. Probate does take several months to complete. However, it is not an overly burdensome and expensive process. Call our office to schedule an appointment and we will fully explain the probate process and how it works.