Estate Planning Attorney Serving Weston

Protect Your Family’s Future with Your Estate Plan

It’s important to feel assured that your assets and property will pass on to your loved ones according to your wishes. The best way to achieve gain that assurance is to build a comprehensive estate plan that springs into action at life’s most important crossroads. Consulting with an experienced attorney can help you devise your plan and account for other important issues such as your long-term care, end-of-life care, and the guardianship of minor children.

Marsden Law P.C. can provide the legal advice and services you need to determine how to organize your estate plan in a manner that achieves your goals. Our estate planning attorney in Weston can help you explore your various options in trusts, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives that can help you protect your loved ones for a time when you are no longer around.

Call Marsden Law P.C. today at (800) 828-7854 or complete our online contact form to get in touch with someone from our office who can help you learn more about our services or schedule a consultation. 

What Is an Estate Plan?

An estate plan is more than just one thing. It’s a series of important legal documents that convey your wishes for how you want yourself and your property to be treated during times when you are not able to address these matters directly. Such can be the case, of course, when you pass away – but some parts of an estate plan can become active when you are seriously ill, in a coma, or are suffering from conditions such as Alzheimer’s or dementia.

A comprehensive estate plan is one that includes legal documents outlining the following and more:

• Wills
• Irrevocable or Complex Trusts
• Health Care Proxies
• Long Term Care Insurance
• Powers of Attorney
• Guardianship for Minor Children
• Gift & Charitable Contribution Plans
• Medicaid Plans

Why Should I Have an Estate Plan?

There are many reasons to establish an estate plan, such as the following:

• Avoiding Probate: Probate can be a lengthy and costly legal process your loved ones will have to go through if you only die with a will or no estate plan at all. Estate plans that include trusts, however, can avoid probate altogether.
• Reducing Estate Tax Liability: The value of your estate – and thus what your loved ones will receive in the end – can be sapped by state and federal estate taxes. With an AB/ABC trust, you may be able to mitigate or eliminate the potential impact these taxes can have on the value of your estate.
• Continued Care for Your Loved Ones: If you have minor children or an adult with special needs in your care, an estate plan can help you select a trusted person in your life to raise and/or watch over these loved ones in your absence.
• Protecting Wealth: Some estate plans are capable of protecting your assets from lawsuit judgments and other hostile legal action taken against you.

How Do Wills & Trusts Differ?

A will and a trust can both help you make important decisions for what happens to your estate after you pass away, but there are a few key differences between them.

A will becomes effective only after you pass away, while a trust goes into effect as soon as it is created. This is because a trust is a legal entity that holds your estate property so that it is legally considered separate from your personal property – this is also how most estates with a trust at the center are able to skip probate.

Both a will and a trust require someone to administer and settle your estate. In your will, you will assign an executor to perform these duties under the supervision of probate court. With a trust, a designated trustee can do these things privately outside of court.

Our Weston estate planning lawyer at Marsden Law P.C. can help you navigate either the trust or will process to help you feel confident in knowing your options.

What Exactly Is Probate?

Probate is the court-supervised process of validating the deceased’s will and administering their estate. This includes locating all property belonging to the estate, notifying creditors and paying valid debts, as well as paying estate taxes and distributing what’s left to the beneficiaries.

Many people retain legal representation during probate to assist with these matters if they are named as an executor in the will or appointed as a representative of the estate by the court.

Marsden Law P.C. Is Ready to Assist You

By selecting our firm to help you with whatever your estate planning needs may be, you are gaining a team that will work hard to help you feel assured that you and your loved ones will be protected. If you want to learn more about the services that our estate planning attorney in Weston can do for you, schedule a free initial consultation with us today.

Get in touch with someone from our firm who can help by calling (800) 828-7854 or by filling out our online contact form.