Estate Planning and Administration

We provide clients with counsel for wills, powers of attorney, advanced health care directives (“living wills”), trusts, and estate and inheritance tax issues.

Wills — We counsel our clients, taking into consideration their desires, goals and tax situation, so that their last will meets their expectations, and their property and money are distributed as they wish after their death.

Powers of Attorney — Powers of Attorney are legal documents that designate a trusted person as an agent to make financial decisions and sign legal documents. Powers of Attorney are used for clients who want to prepare for a possible situation of becoming unable to take care of their own financial matters.

Advanced Health Care Directives (also known as “Living Wills”) — Advanced health care directives allow our clients to make their own decisions regarding the care they would like to receive should they suffer from a terminal illness or condition. A directive may also assign someone our client trusts to make decisions about medical care, if the person becomes unable to communicate.

Probate and Estate Administration — Our attorneys will help our clients through the legal processes followed after a person’s death. Our attorneys can prepare an inventory of assets and discharge the liabilities of the estate. We can also provide post-death tax planning, such as funding trusts and distribution of assets.

Living Trusts – Living trusts are useful tools for tax planning in certain circumstances. Unfortunately, living trusts are often promoted as cure-alls for all tax and probate problems, which they are not. Our attorneys are knowledgeable of living trusts and can evaluate a client’s need for such trust.