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» Business Planning | What is Estate Planning?
Estate planning is the preparation of various legal documents, generally wills, trusts powers of attorney and health care directives, that set forth how a person wishes to have his or her assets managed (and medical decisions made) upon incapacity or death. Like financial, tax or insurance planning, estate planning is an extremely important part of a family's protection against the uncertainties of the future. Therefore, when deciding to have an estate plan implemented, you owe it to yourself to make sure the choices you make are informed ones.
Don't be fooled into thinking that the preparation of an estate plan is as simple as filling out a form. While it is possible to prepare your own plan, it can be quite dangerous. And if you do make a mistake, it most likely will go unnoticed until it is too late.
Likewise, avoid having a plan prepared at a bargain price. Certainly, cost is a factor to consider, but placing too much emphasis on the price can result in an inadequate plan or one that actually causes serious problems.
Finally, remember that the preparation of an estate plan involves the practice of law. In fact, an estate planning practitioner must be knowledgeable in many areas, including wills and trust law, taxation, health care, governmental benefits law and trust administration. As such, you should have your plan implemented by an estate planning attorney.
How We Can Help
Planning your estate involves many decisions, as well as frank discussions about difficult topics, such as death, mental and physical incapacity, proper handling of business interests, and problems with family members. We can assist with handling this difficult but important process from initial fact gathering, through decision-making, to the completion of a full estate plan.
For most clients, a complete plan will consist of a revocable living trust with pour-over wills, powers of attorney for financial affairs (to deal with non-trust matters), and health care directives. In some cases, irrevocable trust are appropriate, and in some situations other related work might be needed, such as trust administration, business planning or probate. We handle all aspects of estate planning and its various related areas of law.
Please contact us for further information. |
