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What does an
estate planning
attorney do?

An estate planning attorney
helps you navigate difficult
decisions about your family
and your assets.

An attorney can ensure that
you know all of your options
and explain the consequences
of your decisions.
Why should I have an estate plan?

Disagreements arise even among the most loving and stable family members. In the event
of your incapacitation or death, disagreements about your intentions can erupt into full-
blown family disputes. These disputes can destroy what were once close relationships and
result in costly litigation. An estate plan’s primary goal is to maintain harmony within your
family after your death or incapacitation and to maximize the transfer of assets to your
beneficiaries.


What is the point of having an estate plan?

The purpose of an estate plan is to provide peace of mind for you, security for your family,
financial flexibility during your lifetime, and asset protection after your death. The
instruments that can be used to achieve these purposes range from the very simple to the
highly sophisticated.

• Are you worried about the probate process?
• Who will take care of you children if you cannot?
• Do you want to minimize estate taxes?
• Are you going to have a major medical procedure performed soon?
• Are there charitable activities that you support?
• Do you want to provide support for you grandchildren?
• Do you have a child with physical or mental disabilities?
• Are you concerned about paying for long-term care for yourself or a loved one?

These sorts of questions are very personal and will dictate what sort of estate planning
tools should be utilized on your behalf.


What tools are available for estate planning?

Living trusts and Pour-over Wills can allow your assets to pass to your beneficiaries
without going through the time-consuming, expensive, and public probate process.

Advanced Health Care Directives can allow you to clearly designate a Health Care
Agent who can make medical decisions for you in the event that you are incapacitated.

Durable Powers of Attorney can allow you to clearly designate an Agent to make
financial decisions for you in the event that you are incapacitated.

Guardianship Statements can allow you – and not a judge – to designate who will
raise your children in the event that you cannot.

Irrevocable Trusts can allow high net worth individuals pass a greater share of their
estate to their loved ones and charitable causes.

Special Needs Trusts can allow you to provide security to a loved one with a physical
or mental disability.

These are but some of the tools that are available. Working with an estate planning
attorney can ensure that you are aware of all of your options and that your estate
plan is professionally constructed.

Who benefits from estate planning?

You.

In the event of your incapacitation, an estate plan can provide clear
instructions about who should make important medical and financial
decisions for you. Providing clear instructions about your views on life
and finances can minimize or eliminate family disputes about your
intentions. Also, the knowledge that your wishes have been recorded
in legally enforceable documentation provides you with peace of mind
that your instructions will be carried out.

Your Children and Family

An estate plan can provide for clear instructions about your intentions
in the event of your incapacity or death. Your children and family
members may disagree about what you would have wanted. Providing
clear instructions about your intent and assigning certain individuals
the responsibility to make decisions based on those instructions can
help maintain harmony and stability in the family.

Your Assets

Probate, a judicially administered process in which a judge reviews
your will, can be a very time-consuming, public, and expensive
process. A living trust can help minimize, if not eliminate, the burdens
of the probate process.

Estate and gift taxes can ravage a lifetime’s worth of hard work and
asset accumulation for high net-worth individuals. Implementing
appropriate legal strategies in a timely manner can help ensure that
your legacy is more fully passed to your family and charitable causes.


Estate Planning for New Moms & Dads

Congratulations on being a new parent! Along with all the joys
of parenthood come a bewildering set of new responsibilities.
Providing clear instructions to your family and loved ones about
who you wish to raise your child in the event that you cannot is
one of those responsibilities.

I am at the age where my siblings and friends have begun to
start families of their own. They would often ask me if there was
any “legal stuff” that they should be concerned about. Based on
my work with my family and friends, I have put together a New
Moms & Dads package. The package is designed to provide
security for your children at a “family friendly” price and provide
peace of mind for Mom and Dad.

The package helps Moms & Dads navigate the following issues:

• Who will be responsible for raising my children if we cannot?
• Who will manage my assets until my children are old enough to
  inherit?
• Who will make medical decisions for me if I am incapacitated?
• Who will manage my assets for me if I am incapacitated?

As an estate planning attorney, I can help explain your options
and make sure that your wishes are conveyed in a clear and
legally enforceable manner.