At Douglas, Haun & Heidemann, P.C. our goal is to help you plan to efficiently transfer your assets to your beneficiaries with the least tax liability, administrative cost, and inconvenience. We do this through comprehensive tax and estate planning, will and trust planning and drafting, life insurance planning, and generation-skipping trust planning. We assist clients with asset protection planning and closely-held business succession planning and exit planning. Our services include preparation of gift and estate tax returns, and drafting wills, trusts, health care directives, living wills, legal and medical powers of attorney, and beneficiary and transfer on death documents.
Why You Should Hire A Springfield Estate Planning Lawyer
An estate planning attorney can help you greatly with your estate planning. They know the ins and outs of the legal system and how your estate will be handled if you become incapacitated or pass away. They can help you and your loved ones avoid the lengthy and expensive probate process and avoid costly tax liabilities. There are many different complex aspects to an estate plan, and you will be able to trust that an estate planning lawyer will be thorough and ensure that everything is covered. A lawyer can ensure no mistakes are made within your estate plan and save you a lot of time and energy. Estate planning can be an emotionally charged process, having an estate planning attorney on your side will ensure there is a third party who will be able to provide you with an objective unbiased answer. Using something like online estate planning forms leaves a lot of room for error, and is highly unadvisable. An estate planning lawyer will understand and cover the complexities of your estate and ensure your estate is handled properly.
What Is Estate Planning?
Estate planning is the process of determining how your assets will be handled and deciding who will take care of your responsibilities if you become incapacitated or pass away. You will be able to decide ahead of time, how your assets will be preserved or divided and make sure you have full control of what happens to your assets once you pass away. Your assets can include things such as your house, investment properties, vehicles like cars, boats, motorhomes, and collectibles. Your assets also include intangible items such as retirement accounts, savings accounts, stocks, ownership of businesses or corporations, and life insurance. With the help of an estate planning lawyer, you can ensure your assets are handled however you would like them to be.
Wills
Wills help determine who will receive your assets. The Individuals who you choose to receive your assets would be considered beneficiaries. A will also helps determine who you would want to be the executor of your estate. The executor would be in charge of distributing the estate and should be someone you trust. If you have children, a will also would appoint guardianship to in the case that both parents die or become incapacitated. It is also advised to appoint a back-up guardian, just in case. We recommend reviewing your will at least yearly and making updates and changes as needed. It is recommended to update your will whenever there have been life changes, such as a divorce, death in the family, or the birth of a new grandchild.
Trusts
A trust can be made for many reasons, but generally speaking is used to hold assets for a beneficiary, or someone you’ve designated to receive your assets in the case of death or incapacitation. A trust is someone or an organization who will hold on to assets and manage them on behalf of the beneficiaries of the trust. The individual who sets up the trust for their assets is considered a “grantor”. The individual or organization who holds the property and gives it to the beneficiary is considered a “trustee”. While trusts aren’t for everyone, they can be a beneficial choice if you’re a property owner, you have a taxable estate, you have over $200,000 in assets, or even if you would prefer to keep your assets private. Trusts can help manage tax consequences on an estate, and can even possibly help protect your wealth so you would still be able to qualify for Medicaid. A trust could also be helpful if you would like to set up stipulations on inheritance, for example, awarding a certain amount to a beneficiary for graduating high school or college, getting married, purchasing a home, etc. There are many types of trusts but these types are the most common:
Living Trust
A living trust also called an inter vivos trust, is created while you are still alive. You can use this type of trust as a way to transfer assets to a beneficiary while they are still alive. This trust can be changed or revoked during the lifetime of the grantor, but once the grantor dies, this trust can not be revoked or changed. This type of trust can be beneficial because it avoids a costly and timely probate process, and can even reduce estate tax for beneficiaries.
Testamentary Trust
A testamentary trust is set up once you, the grantor, pass, in accordance with your last will and testament. This could be beneficial if you have young children and would allow you to leave a gift to a child and designate the beneficiary’s guardian or trustee to oversee and manage those funds.
Revocable vs Irrevocable Trusts
A revocable trust is created while the grantor is alive, and can be revoked or adjusted throughout the grantor’s lifetime. The terms of an irrevocable trust cannot be modified or terminated once it’s put in place without the consent of the beneficiaries.
Generation-Skipping Trust
A generation-skipping trust is a trust that gives you the ability to transfer assets to someone who is at least 37 and a half years younger than you. This helps you avoid paying estate taxes more than once. The trust beneficiaries do not need to be related to the grantor, or trust creator, and are considered to be the “skip-persons”. The skip-persons can be grandchildren or great-grandchildren if desired. An experienced estate planning attorney is necessary to create a strong generation-skipping trust as these types of trusts are usually complex.
Durable Power of Attorney (POA)
A durable power of attorney or POA, can act on your behalf, and is typically used for if you become mentally incompetent, or can no longer make decisions for yourself. A power of attorney can be given the authority to make financial, legal, and medical decisions for you, depending on the terms set in the power of attorney. When deciding who you would like to become your POA, it is important to choose someone you trust.
Life Insurance Planning
Your untimely death could greatly affect and derail your family’s financial goals. If you are able to correctly plan your life insurance, it doesn’t have to. We can help factor in the many variables that play into life insurance and ensure your loved ones are taken care of financially in case of an untimely death. Life insurance planning may be right for you if you still have family members who rely on your income or if your assets won’t sufficiently support the individuals who rely on your income. It can also ensure there are enough funds to pay estate taxes and other expenses. Making sure you have the right amount of life insurance is important.
Business Succession and Exit Planning
Business succession and exit planning is the process of identifying and choosing a successor of a business or company and transferring the company to a designated individual, or a team of multiple individuals. Succession and exit planning gives companies a higher chance at being successful long-term and takes into account changes like retirement or death. Our estate planning lawyers are thorough and will analyze your business and work to set up a solid succession and/or exit plan that is optimized for your company’s future.
Contact Us Today For A Consultation
No matter the complexity of your estate or assets, our estate planning lawyers at Douglas, Haun & Heidemann, P.C. can help. Our estate planning team will provide you with the information you need and guide you through all the steps of planning your estate. We provide expert advice, sound legal guidance, and a professional understanding of your situation and help take the confusion out of estate planning. Contact us online or give us a call at 1.800.743.5728 for a consultation today.
