FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
ESTATE PLANNING
Your Last Will is a legal document through which you distribute some of your assets upon death. Other assets will be distributed not based on your Last Will but on your beneficiary designations, depending on the situation. Over two-thirds of the U.S. adult population does not have a last will, and for those who do, most Last Wills do not fully cover their situation. Upon death, the only want to make a Last Will valid is to file it in the probate court, a public and normally lengthy process that delays your family access to what you have left behind.
A successful outcome in estate planning requires the guidance of a professional lawyer who deals with estate planning on a daily basis. You have devoted your entire life to creating what you have today. Unfortunately, following the death of a loved one, some families are left with nothing because they didn’t plan at all, or used an online platform that was unaware of their family or situation and was of no use to them when they needed it the most. We encourage the development of long-term relationships between you and your estate planning attorney so that you can rest assured that your family will have legal assistance even when you are unable to provide it.
Our estate planning fees are designed on a flat-fee basis to provide complete transparency with our clients. We understand cost is a sensitive topic, which is why we cannot quote fees online or over the phone. However, we invite you to attend our upcoming educational events where we cover our unique meeting process and fee schedule. This ensures you have all the information you need to make the best decision for you and your family.
A Trust can function as a replacement for a Will. A Revocable Living Trust, like a Last Will, distributes your assets after death. The advantage of a Trust is that it doesn’t need to be filed with the probate court to be enforced. In contrast, a Last Will must be filed with the probate court to have any legal effect. A Trust is a confidential document that relates to your personal matters, whereas a Last Will becomes a public document once you die, regardless of how reserved you were during your lifetime. Aside from that, there are many other Trusts that perform various roles, and the appropriate overall estate plan for each family’s unique situation must be customised, which could involve one or more Trusts.
Through our comprehensive life and legacy planning process, we prioritize capturing and transferring your important intangible assets such as values, insights, stories, and experiences in addition to transferring your financial assets and personal belongings. Estate planning is crucial for everyone, regardless of their financial status, as everyone has an estate as valuable as anything in the world that needs to be protected. After your departure, your loved ones will cherish your words of advice and concern and coming across a letter or voicemail from you will be a great gift. Let us help you give your loved ones the most precious gift of all – a lasting expression of your love.
It is recommended to have your out-of-state estate plan reviewed by a local Personal Family Lawyer to ensure compliance with any state law differences, regardless of your physical location within the United States.
ASSET PROTECTION PLANNING
Appropriate assets for an asset protection trust must be carefully chosen. Once identified, these valuable assets can be transferred to safeguard them from unknown and future creditors. This transfer safeguards your assets while you are alive and even after your death, protecting them from the IRS. However, there are downsides to transferring valuable property into an asset protection trust. These drawbacks involve possible exposure to creditors’ claims, relinquishing control over the transferred asset’s management, and gift tax consequences resulting from the transfer.
Determining which assets should go into an asset protection trust depends on your unique situation, including your state of residence, office location, business organization, and asset location. Despite some assets being forever protected, each state determines which ones are considered “exempt.” In some states, exempt assets include clothing, jewelry, tools, and household furnishings, while in others, additional assets such as life insurance and social security benefits are exempt.
For optimal asset protection planning, it is imperative to work with a lawyer who is experienced in dealing with such situations on a daily basis. Your hard-earned assets and loved ones deserve the utmost care and attention, which cannot be achieved through online forms, internet software, or DIY templates. Choose professionalism and security for yourself and your family.
Our fees are set on a flat-fee basis to provide transparency and eliminate any surprises. We understand that cost is a sensitive topic and we invite you to attend our upcoming educational events where we cover our unique meeting process and fee schedule. This will enable you to make an informed decision about the next steps for you and your family. Unfortunately, we cannot provide fee quotes over the phone or online.
If you have a retirement plan, federal law does not allow creditors to reach that asset. This applies to profit sharing, pensions, and 401(k) plans. However, both traditional and Roth IRAs may not be protected depending on the situation. We work closely with you so that you know the exact situation in your case and can make the right decisions from an asset protection planning perspective.
Asset protection planning can be effective when properly executed. It is based on the principle that almost any asset you possess can be seized by a creditor, while any asset you do not own cannot be taken from you. The objective of asset protection is to separate legal ownership of your assets from your control of them. This allows you to enjoy the economic advantages of your assets while safeguarding them from potential creditors. Please note that we do not create plans with the intention of evading known or foreseeable creditors, as such planning would be inadequate at that stage.