Our Featured Areas of Practice
Estate Planning & Elder Law
The title, “Estate Planning,” is a misnomer. Planning for one’s “property” or “estate” is only a small piece of what Estate Planning encompasses. Creating and maintaining a comprehensive “Estate Plan” involves not only planning for the transfer of assets and acquisitions at death, but also involves planning for incapacity and end-of-life decision-making.
Estate & Probate Administration
The ability to own property ceases immediately at death, and the ownership of assets must be transferred to someone else. While there may be other administrative options available in some circumstances, probate administration is one commonly used process for winding up the affairs and formally transferring the assets of a loved one after death. The process is governed by state law. A probate administration can be “testate” meaning that a loved one had a valid Will, or it can be “intestate”, meaning that a loved one died without a (valid) Will.
Trust Administration
Trust administrations can occur during life and at death. Thus, trust administrations can be ongoing for many years or can last just long enough for assets held in trust to be distributed to beneficiaries (those persons who are benefitting from the assets held in trust).
Medicaid Planning
Medicaid Planning is a catch-all phrase for planning that is done with consideration to ongoing costs of paying for long-term care. While such planning overlaps with general estate planning and often requires revisions to typical estate planning documents such as Durable Powers of Attorney, Wills, and Property Agreements, the goal of such planning is specific to (1) obtaining or maintaining eligibility for long-term care assistance programs, and (2) preserving marital assets during and after long-term care is obtained.
Adult Guardianship/Conservatorship
Adult guardianship and adult conservatorship are court-supervised processes established to protect those persons over eighteen who cannot protect or care for themselves. These processes are intended to be a last resort where there are no other means by which a person can get the necessary support and protection to ensure their safety. This support and protection, however, comes at a cost. The fees and costs for establishing a guardianship or conservatorship are often significant. Additionally, important legal and constitutional rights are stripped from the person subject to guardianship/conservatorship. And finally, the person subject to guardianship/conservatorship experiences a considerable loss of privacy because the court proceedings are public records.
