McKinney Estate Planning Lawyers
Unlike some other firms, estate planning is not a sideline practice at The Nordhaus Firm. Here, it is one of the cornerstones of our firm. Effectively planning an estate is a process that goes far beyond simply preparing a set of documents. Preparing a thorough and personalized estate plan begins with a conversation with one of our McKinney estate planning lawyers about your personal goals and wishes, followed by a discussion of pertinent family matters and a detailed financial analysis.
The process does not end until the plan has been fully implemented, from signing documents to re-titling assets and updating beneficiary designations. By looking at the entire picture, we are able to craft tax-efficient estate plans that maximize each individual client’s ability to adapt to changes during their lives while making things easier for their family after death.
Everyone Needs an Estate Plan
Despite common misconceptions, everyone needs an estate plan. Many people seem to think that you only need an estate plan if you are rich. But, while wealthy individuals may require more complicated strategies to address issues like federal and state death taxes, even the “not-so-rich” must carefully plan for the distribution of their property and appointment of guardians for their children. A simple will may be all the estate plan you need, but it is still extremely important. Starting out with a simple will is an excellent way to protect yourself and your loved ones. Our simple wills are flexible documents that can be amended as your family grows and changes over time.
When Should I Contact McKinney Estate Planning Lawyers?
If you are like most people, when you think about estate planning, you think about how you want your assets to be distributed after your death. While distributing your assets is undoubtedly one of the primary purposes – and perhaps even the primary purpose – of having an estate plan, it is by no means the only reason why it is important to have an estate plan in place.
Some of the other important reasons to prepare an estate plan with our McKinney estate planning lawyers include the following:
1. Appointing a Guardian for Your Minor Children
If you die before your children reach age 18, who will take care of them in your absence? If you do not make arrangements in your estate plan, the unfortunate reality under Texas law is that they may end up in foster care. To make sure you know and control who will take responsibility for raising your children should you no longer be around to do so, it is critical to appoint a guardian or consider an alternative to guardianship as part of the estate planning process.
2. Preserving Relationships Between Your Family Members
Whether it has to do with property, children or any of the other issues that can arise in the wake of an untimely death, without a clear plan to follow surviving family members will often end up in a dispute. While their dispute may not lead to litigation, emotionally-charged disagreements can often divide families and strain relationships to such an extent that things are never truly the same. By making sure you have a comprehensive estate plan that clearly communicates your final wishes, you can help your loved ones preserve their relationships and come together instead of creating new divides.
3. Arranging for Payment of Funeral and Burial Expenses
Another example of the type of issue that can lead to rifts among family members is making arrangements for funeral and burial expenses. For a variety of reasons, family members often have very different ideas about how their loved ones’ funerals should be handled and what is an appropriate amount to spend to honor their loved ones and put them to rest. To protect your family members from having to make these difficult decisions, the best thing you can do is take the process out of their hands.
4. Paying Your Debts with Our McKinney Estate Planning Lawyers
If there is a chance that you will leave behind debts, your estate plan should provide for payment of these debts as well. Do you need a life insurance policy to protect your loved ones? Which assets should your executor use to satisfy your obligations? These are just two of the many questions you will need to answer with regard to paying your debts during the estate planning process.
Our Texas Estate Planning Services
As McKinney estate planning lawyers, we utilize numerous different types of estate planning tools and techniques to protect our clients’ interests. When we meet with you about your estate plan, we will help you understand which of the following are right for you:
- Wills & Trusts
- Revocable Living Trusts
- Durable Powers of Attorney
- Health Care Directives
- Living Wills
- Irrevocable Trusts
- Charitable Trusts
- Generation-skipping Trusts
- Family Limited Partnerships
- Gifting Strategies
- Asset Protection Strategies
- Business Succession Planning
- Tax Planning
- Insurance Planning
- Special Needs Planning
In many situations, crafting an estate plan will involve using a number of these tools in combination. For example, revocable living trusts are popular estate planning tools due to the flexibility they provide and their ability to avoid probate. If you choose to use a living trust, you will also need at least a simple will (to cover guardianship issues and any property not transferred into the trust prior to your death), and you may want to consider a living will for healthcare planning, certain irrevocable trusts and other asset protection and insurance strategies as well.
Plans Tailored to Your Goals
While traditional estate planning often focuses on documents, at The Nordhaus Firm, we start by focusing on your goals. We take the time to understand the factors that impact your circumstances now, and that could play a role in the future. We work with you to hone your priorities, and then we start developing strategies to reach your goals.
For instance, if you need to provide long-term support for a loved one with special needs, we can develop a trust to supply resources for their benefit without interfering with their eligibility for government benefits such as Medicaid. Or, if your goal is to reduce the administrative burden and expenses on your loved ones after you pass away, we can create a revocable trust that will enable your assets to pass quickly and easily without the need for probate. If you are concerned about what could happen if you become incapacitated, we can prepare powers of attorney that enable someone to make decisions and manage affairs on your behalf. If you’re unsure of what you need, we can review your situation and make suggestions.
At each step along the way, we explain your options and the potential ramifications so you can make the right informed decisions for your future. Once your plan is prepared, we ensure that you understand the necessity of putting all the components into action. For example, if your plan includes a trust, we help you determine which assets will be transferred into the trust and the steps needed to achieve full funding. If we prepare a health care directive, we review how the original document needs to be stored and who should receive a copy.
Updating Your Estate Plans
Life changes constantly. Some changes develop slowly over time while others occur in an instant. Your plans need to be adjusted to keep up.
If your estate plans have not been reviewed in some time or you have documents prepared in another state, the team at The Nordhaus Firm can review your arrangements to ensure that they still meet your needs. You may need to change a trustee or guardian nomination if the individuals you originally chose no longer seem to be the best fit. It may be time to reallocate the percentages of assets allocated to particular individuals, or you may have acquired new assets that aren’t accounted for in your plan. Laws may have changed to create new requirements or new opportunities. For a variety of reasons, it is a good idea to schedule a review of your plan every three years or when you’ve had a major change such as a new member of the family.
Peace of Mind Today, Protection for Tomorrow
Creating a comprehensive estate plan ensures that you and your loved ones will be prepared to face whatever the future may bring, and that can allow you to relax. Your plan can not only ensure that loved ones will be provided for after you pass away but also that your own interests will be protected if you become incapacitated due to illness or injury. Your plan can provide for health care needs as well as financial matters, ensuring that critical medical decisions will be made in line with your wishes. In addition, you can structure your plans to accomplish goals such as reducing tax liability or establishing eligibility for Medicaid long-term care benefits. The choices are yours.
Bring Your Questions
The best way for our team to understand your concerns and the issues that make your situation unique is for you to ask questions. Estate planning and probate issues are not something that people deal with on a daily basis, so the terms and tasks involved can be confusing. We want you to understand what is happening and why. Please ask if you don’t know what it means to admit a will to probate or how to fund a trust. The preparation and administering process proceed more smoothly when everyone understands the factors involved.
Our goal is to protect your interests and help you provide for your loved ones while making each step as easy as possible.
Speak with the McKinney Estate Planning Lawyers at Our Firm Today
If you would like to speak with one of our McKinney estate planning attorneys, we invite you to contact us for a free, confidential consultation. Our offices are conveniently located in McKinney, Texas on S. Lake Forest Drive. To get started with your estate plan, contact us online or call 214-726-1450 today.
While our primary office is located in McKinney, Texas, The Nordhaus Firm provides legal representation to residents in the Allen, Frisco, Prosper, and entire Collin County area.