Over the next several blog posts we will briefly illustrate the variety of needs we meet for our clients. While many people think that estate planning is the same for everyone, upcoming posts provide seven examples of some recent activity. This is to demonstrate that every family and every individual has a unique situation that requires unique solutions. Each family has a different situation and a different concern, so we thought we’d give you a general overview of their problems and how we are solving them so that if you have a similar problem you will know that you are not alone and there is someone that can help who has helped others in similar situations.
The facts will be anonymized enough for client protection but will be informative enough to provide value to the reader. I think you will see that Estate Planning is a varied practice, every situation is very different and you will learn the importance of an estate planning legal program that you and your family want and deserve!
- Keep your estate settlement simple;
- Avoid the court-supervised Probate process when you die;
- Avoid federal estate and gift tax;
- Avoid losing your home and life-savings to nursing home expenses;
- Designate the right person or people to handle your estate when you’re gone;
- Set up your estate legal program so that it takes days or weeks to settle your estate – rather than months or years;
- Avoid assets from having to be sold within nine months of your death to pay estate tax;
- Protect your children’s inheritance from their past, present, or future divorces;
- Provide for your special needs children and grandchildren so that their government benefits are protected;
- Protect both your spouse AND your children in a blended family situation;
- Set up your retirement accounts and IRAs to minimize tax and maximize the benefit to your family;
- Provide for the distribution of your personal effects without causing a fight among surviving family members;
- Provide for your unstable children or heirs (on drugs or alcohol, or unable to responsibly handle money) so their inheritance is protected from themselves;
- Keep your financial affairs private when you die, outside of the public records, and off the internet;
- Keep your family from having to pay capital gains tax when they sell your property after you die;
- Ensure that the right family members have access and authority when you become incapacitated and protect what you have while you are alive and need it most;
- Avoid Medicaid’s Estate Recovery liens from taking your home and vehicles after you pass away;
- Keep your loved ones from having to make the often-difficult decision to terminate your life and withdraw life-support machines when you are in a profound vegetative state, hooked up to machines, with no chance of recovery;
- Arrange your estate legal affairs so that when you have a stroke, illness, or accident and become incapacitated, the right people will have the authority to make decisions for you, without interference from other difficult family members, and without the need for a court guardianship proceeding;
- Provide for your grandchildren in a way that they benefit from the inheritance for decades after you die.
The estate lawyers of Estate Law Partners, LLC practice law in the areas of Probate, Wills, Estate Planning, and Trusts. We assist clients in and around Madison, Wisconsin with all matters related to estate planning, trusts, and probate matters. Our dedicated attorneys will even make house calls if you are unable to come to our office.
Contact our office by calling (608) 292-5185 to schedule a consultation or use our online contact form.
