Estate Planning
Customized estate planning that protects what's most important to you
A comprehensive estate plan is the best way to ensure that your loved ones are cared for in difficult times. Our goal is to provide you with well-deserved peace of mind by combining our legal expertise and our genuine appreciation for your needs to protect what matters most. We work closely with every client to draft a customized plan that addresses their specific needs, desires, and concerns.
Our Services
- Wills
- Revocable Living Trusts
- Special Needs Trusts
- Retirement Trusts
- Separate Property Trusts
- Children's Lifetime Trusts
- Life Insurance Trusts
- Irrevocable Trusts
- Personal Property Memorandum
- Funding Trusts
- Living Wills
- Advanced Directives
- HIPAA Releases
- Financial Power of Attorney
- Declaration of Guardian for Minor Children
- Trust Transfer Deed
- Premarital Agreements
- Marital Agreements
- Trust Administration
- Probate
- Asset Protection Planning
- Business Entity Advising and Formation
- Limited Liability Companies (LLCs)
- Limited Partnerships
- Corporations
- Nonprofit Organizations
- Bylaws and Operating Agreements
- Buy/Sell Agreements
- Annual Minutes/Board Resolutions
- Succession Planning for Business Owners
Our Process
One of the things that sets us apart from other firms is our estate planning process. Our process ensures that we take the time to get to know you, listen to your concerns, understand your needs, and make recommendations based on what best suits your family. Each time we interact, our goal is to move one step closer toward completing your estate plan. We want to ensure that the process is as easy and painless as possible: we hold your hand through each step and by the end have a completed product to show for it.
The estate planning process starts with a 30-minute initial meeting. This first meeting is a great time for us to get to know each other. We will ask you to fill out our client worksheet and bring it with you to the meeting. We will review your worksheet and use it to discuss your concerns and questions. We will also discuss in detail our process and how we work with clients. This is a good time for both you and us to determine if we are a good fit to work together.
The goal of the design meeting is to dive into the details of your specific plan. We leave time on our calendar to design your plan at the end of your initial meeting. We will discuss various options regarding distribution of your assets, who will make financial decisions for you after you pass or become incapacitated, who will advocate for your medical needs, who will care for your children, etc. We will give you various choices and make recommendations based on your particular situation. At the end of the meeting we’ll have a clear blue print that we will use to draft your documents.
The next time we see you will be to review and sign your documents. We take the time to go through the documents with you to ensure that they meet your goals and that you understand them. After the documents are signed and notarized, we’ll provide you your original documents in an organized binder, and send you electronic copies.
At your signing meeting, we will also discuss how to align your assets with your estate plan and provide you with detailed instructions for how to handle each of your assets, including account titling and beneficiary designations. We are also available to provide assistance as you go through the asset alignment process. If you own real estate that needs to be retitled, we will ensure that your deeds are properly recorded. Once the deeds are recorded, we will provide you with the originals. At the end of the Asset Alignment process, we will have a phone conference with you to confirm that all of your assets have been aligned.
Our relationship does not end when we finish your estate plan. Because the law changes, and inevitably families and assets change too, it is necessary to ensure your estate plan is kept up to date. All too often, an estate plan that is entirely appropriate at the time it was drafted becomes woefully out of date by the time it is put into place, resulting in a plan that doesn’t work when it needs to.
We believe that an ongoing representation designed to ensure your plan is updated as your family changes, the law changes, and your assets change is the process necessary to give you the peace of mind that your plan will work when it’s needed. You will need estate planning documents, but to make sure your family is taken care of when it really matters, you need a process to make sure the plan is kept up to date.
© 2022 Nielsen Law PLLC Disclaimer