Estate Planning

The Benefits of Estate Planning

A well-designed estate plan takes into consideration important objectives such as:

Avoiding Probate

While a last will and testament is a common way to plan for the distribution of your assets after your death, it must be probated. Probate is a court-supervised process that is lengthy, costly, and public. Further, assets passing through the probate process will be subject to the claims of creditors. We advise our clients on the advantages of a trust as a means of avoiding probate, and for tax planning and asset protection.

Providing for Minor Children

A last will and testament is the only way to designate a guardian to provide for the upbringing, financial and medical needs of your children if you become incapacitated.  To protect your children, we recommend that you execute a living trust along with your will.

Planning for Incapacity

If you are unable to speak for yourself due to temporary or permanent incapacity, it is crucial to designate trusted individuals to manage your personal and financial affairs and make health care decisions on your behalf according to your preferences.

The Honerlaw Firm is dedicated to understanding your unique circumstances and tailoring an estate plan to best suits your needs. While some clients may only require a will-based estate plan, we provide advice and guidance on a variety of estate planning tools, including:

Revocable Living Trust

A properly structured living trust allows you to continue managing the trust assets during your lifetime, plan for incapacity, and provide instructions for the distribution of your assets after you pass away. Because the trust takes ownership of property that is transferred into the trust, the probate process can be avoided, which can save time, money and maintain your family’s privacy.

Last Will and Testament

While execution of a trust helps avoid the cost and delay of probate proceedings, we also prepare a will for you to execute along with your trust.  This “pour-over” will serves two primary purposes: (1) to name guardians for your children, if necessary, and (2) to ensure that if any assets are inadvertently left out of your trust, a court will have the power to transfer those assets into your trust after your death.

Durable Power of Attorney

This document allows you to designate a trusted person to handle your personal and business affairs in the event you become incapacitated, such as managing bank and investment accounts, and paying debts or household expenses.

Advance Medical Directive

Also referred to as a Health Care Power of Attorney, this estate planning tools designates a medical agent to make decisions about the medical treatment you should receive in the event of incapacity, according to your preferences.

Living Will

This document is another type of advance directive that conveys the type of life preserving or end of life medical care you wish to receive or have withheld if you become permanently unconscious or are terminally ill. It is an expression of your wishes and gives your medical agent more authority.