Estate Planning Attorneys 14220 NY

It’s important that you get an estate plan that covers all your needs, even those you didn’t know you have. Your family situation may be quite complicated, and making decisions on how best to write your will becomes herculean. But having a professional who understands your situation brings so much to the table. Having worked with several clients throughout New York 14220, our estate planning attorneys know the problems people often face when estate planning, and it is our duty to offer you an estate plan that covers all your needs.

We can offer you professional advice for asset distribution, probate and cost minimization, asset protection, and incapacity planning. We have several estate planning strategies to employ, and we will do so according to your peculiar needs.

Contact us now to speak with one of our estate planning attorneys 14220.

Estate planning

Estate planning typically involves making plan for the disbursement of your estate when you die, as well as how this estate will be managed should you become incapacitated at any time. Such preparations go hand in hand with minimizing cost and possible complications.

To put such plans in place, there are certain documents to create, laws to consider, and strategies to adopt. We shall discuss some of these below.

Fundamental estate planning Documents

1. Will

In your will, you express your wishes in writing how you would want your estate disposed when you die. You name your beneficiaries and allocate specific portions of your estate to them. Who receives your car business, etc. While doing this, it’s our duty to make sure the appropriate words are used in your documents, such that depict what you meant. Since every will must pass through the probate court, it’s important that the right terms are used as recognized legally to avoid ambiguity or discrepancies.

2. Revocable Trust

A revocable trust, also known as a living trust, allows you to transfer assets even during your lifetime. It goes into effect as soon as you fund assets into it, and these assets will pass directly to the beneficiary without the probate process. By this advantage, we typically recommend using trusts if you have a highly valuable estate.

3. Power of Attorney

We recommend including a power of attorney to help you plan for incapacity. This document allows you to name a competent and trusted person who will help you manage your financial affairs when you become incapacitated in the future (most likely during old age).

4. Medical power of attorney

Also known as a healthcare surrogate, this document enables you authorize someone to make healthcare decisions for you.

Probate NY 14220

Probate is a legal process whereby the court checks your will for validity before the executor goes ahead to administer and settle the estate according to the will. It is done after the death of the testator.

Probate in New York is complex, costly, and time-consuming, especially for highly valuable and complex estates. Since all wills must pass through probate, it’s recommended to use a living trust for such valuable estates so that your beneficiaries can inherit timely and cost-effectively.

Tax planning and asset protection

If at your death the value of your estate exceeds the estate tax threshold of $5.85 million, up to 16% will be charged from your estate as tax. To avoid this, we can help you carry out asset protection using irrevocable trusts. Assets funded into your irrevocable trusts takes up the name of the trust, thus leaving your estate. This way, we can cut down your estate value, and the assets will pass down to your beneficiaries tax-exempt.

Medicaid

Most times, estate planning can make you ineligible for Medicaid benefits. But if you desire to be eligible, then our estate planning attorneys 14220 can help you plan with an eye towards that.

Children below 18 cannot inherit

If you have children below 18 yet wish to leave assets for them, then we can help you establish guardianship for them in your will, or execute a trust for them. By so doing, you will have someone managing the assets for them until they come of age to inherit.

Estate Planning Attorneys near me NY 14220

Call our office today to speak with one of our estate planning attorneys serving Buffalo, NY 14220. Your first consultation is free.