services
Estate Planning
Whether you simply want to avoid probate or you have more complex needs, I will design an estate plan that will address your needs as economically as possible.
A basic estate plan is comprised of a Last Will and Testament, Financial Power of Attorney, Healthcare Power of Attorney, Living Will, and HIPAA Authorization. Basic plans also include assistance with property transfers and assistance signing up to become an organ donor if desired.
A trust-based plan includes everything in a basic estate plan plus a trust that is customized to your unique situation and goals.
I will review each piece of your plan and describe how they work in real situations should the need arise. I also provide planning options so you are empowered to make informed decisions, follow-on instructions to assure your plan works seamlessly, and a summary of your plan to make it easy to review your plan periodically and assure it remains up to date.
Probate
If you’ve lost a loved one and don’t know where to start, I help clients determine if there is need to file for probate at all and if there is need, when and how to begin the process.
Each county’s Probate Court offer simpler options to settle modest estates as well as the traditional full administration. I walk clients through the process of sorting through a loved one’s estate assets and estate plan (if they had one) and explain each step of the probate process.
I also assist in recording any property transfers that may be needed to complete administration of the estate.
My focus is on uncontested estates - situations where there is unlikely to be disagreement about what ultimately happens to the estate assets.
Trust administration
A trust is an estate planning tool that allows the person who creates the trust, called the settlor, the ability to decide when and how the assets controlled by the terms of the trust, called the trust corpus, are distributed to the settlor’s loved ones, called beneficiaries.
Trusts can be an amazing option for estate planning because they allow the settlor more control over their assets after death. But if you find you’ve been chosen to carry out the terms of a trust and you’re not sure what to do, I can review the terms and help you comply with the formalities to carry out the intention behind the trust.
Guardianships
Legal guardianship allows one adult - called the guardian - authority over another adult - called the ward - who is either incapable of or needs assistance with their own care day-to-day. Common situations are when disabled children become adults or when adults become unable to care for themselves due to illness or injury and they have no estate plan in place.
Guardianship of the Person allows the guardian to tend to their ward’s daily living situation, medical care, and enriching activities that improve quality of life. Guardianship of the Estate gives the guardian responsibility to manage their ward’s estate assets and to make pre-authorized expenditures from their assets for their care.
One can be both Guardian of the Person and Estate for a ward, but it may not always be necessary. I help potential guardians review the potential ward’s situation to determine what type of guardianship is most appropriate and assist in the preparation and submission of the application to the Probate Court. Clients have the option to either receive follow-on instructions if appointed or continue working with me on an hourly basis to maintain compliance with their obligations as guardian.
Other services
If you are not ready to plan your estate but you need to put a particular document in place, I would be happy to help you. For example, updating your Healthcare Power of Attorney and Living Will prior to a scheduled surgery, or putting a limited Financial Power of Attorney in place for a brief period of time or to complete a sale because you will be traveling outside the country.
I will also prepare and file Transfer on Death Designation Affidavits on real property (houses/land) and Survivorship Affidavits.
Consult the Fees page to see how a la carte services are billed.
