Estate Planning

We prepare all types of estate planning documents. This includes the common ones: Wills, Revocable Living Trusts, Testamentary Trusts, Powers of Attorney, Living Will and Final Instructions.  It also includes others: Deeds, Business Formations, Supplemental (Special) Needs Trusts, Irrevocable Trusts, and more.

We help clients achieve their goals. Depending on the case, that might be avoiding probate, nominating a guardian for minor children, creating a plan for management of assets for minor children, or designating a custodian for your special pet. Because every client situation is unique, so is our advice and recommendation for each client.

Understanding estate planning means preparing yourself and your family for eventual death.

Things you’ll want to think about:

• Who will you be nominating as the personal representative for your estate, a trustee for your trust, an agent under power of attorney, and/or the beneficiaries of your assets.
• What plan do you want to put in place for your family and assets in the event you (and your spouse, if married) die?
• What do you want to do with your assets, like real estate, life insurance proceeds, business interests, retirement, etc?
• If you have kids, especially younger, who do you want to nominate to take care of them if they are minors (guardian)? What is your plan for managing money and assets over time for them (a trust)? and who do you want to nominate to enact that plan (trustee)?

What’s the process, you say?

We start with an initial consultation to learn more about you and your family, your various assets, and your goals.  The initial consultation lasts as long as necessary, but typically 45-60 minutes. At the end of the initial consultation, we are typically able to recommend one or more types of plans that can accomplish your goals and give you an estimate of the associated fees.

Once you sign a fee agreement to move forward with an estate plan, we begin the second step. The second step consists of our office drafting the documents and then meeting with you to review them. We discuss the mechanics of the documents and get more detailed with your goals and other specifics. This draft meeting is typically about 2-3 weeks after the initial consultation, and lasts around 60 minutes. Our office makes any final changes to the draft documents and emails them to you for final review.

Our third and final step is signing. We arrange witnesses and a notary. You just show up to sign. After signing, witnessing and notarization are complete, we scan the documents to keep a copy in our file, and we send you home with the originals to keep in a safe place.

You can call us anytime with questions or if you think changes need to be made to any of your documents.       

Thinking about death is difficult. We get it. We are here for you. Let us do the planning so that you have peace of mind.

Guardianship, Conservatorship, and Mental Health

We represent clients in Guardianship, Conservatorship, and Mental Health cases. Guardianship and Conservatorship are the legal processes of getting a guardian or conservator appointed for an individual.

A typical case might involve an individual that lacks capacity, cannot take care of or is a danger to themselves, or otherwise has diminished capacity. Sometimes the case is clear and the guardian is warranted and logical. But, sometimes it’s not.

We also represent clients in contesting guardianship and/or conservatorship proceedings.   In mental health cases we represent wards and families and assist them in knowing and asserting their legal rights through the mental health commitment process, whether voluntary or involuntary.  This often includes helping our clients understand medication options, the commitment process itself, and their rights.  

Probate

The legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person. Often involves a court process that lasts around 6-18 months.

This typically involves

• validating a person’s will if they had one
• appointing a personal representative (PR)
• collecting their assets and paying their debts/liabilities
• distributing any remaining assets to heirs and devisees

The court process includes validating a will if they had one, and appointing a personal representative. There are fees and costs associated with probate.

We are here to help you with the death of a recent loved one, whether it involves probate or not. We provide professional guidance so that you can have peace of mind that your loved ones’ final affairs are being taken care of. We understand and encourage the grieving process.