Estate Planning: Take Control of the Future Today
While symbols of success are easy to recognize, the most telling signs of fiscal savvy go mostly unseen: the protections afforded by sound estate planning. The McLawhorn Firm helps clients in all fields and stages of life replace anxieties about the future with reassurance and control.
Our estate planning tools create a layer of protection for you, your family and your assets by:
- Clearly determining what happens to you and your assets in the case of incapacitation or death.
- Minimizing taxes, expenses and court delays during your family's time of grief.
- Keeping your family financially secure for generations into the future.
Without the right plan in place, you risk a court-appointed stranger or relative you would not have chosen making decisions that forever affect your family and legacy.
Your Plan Essentials
At a minimum, a solid estate planning strategy should include these core tools:
- A Last Will and Testament ensures your property and belongings are distributed as you wish. Verbal agreements do not hold up in court. Without a will drafted by an estate planning lawyer, you risk joining those who have billions of dollars of assets tied up in probate every year or distributed against their wishes as the courts see fit.
- A Living Will/Advanced Medical Directive lets you clarify your desires regarding life-sustaining measures, such as ventilators and respirators to family members and physicians.
- A Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare appoints someone of your choosing to make healthcare decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated.
- A Durable Power of Attorney for Property authorizes someone you choose to manage your financial matters if you are unable to do so. This includes selling, collecting and investing assets, managing and selling real and personal property, managing bank accounts and making gifts on your behalf.
Estate Planning Trusts
A trust enables you to spell out in great detail how you wish your loved ones to be taken care of, when they will receive the balance of your property and even the individuals or institutions you would like to manage the property for their benefit.
Available for a wide range of financial situations and future objectives, trusts offer investment and tax-saving opportunities and help ensure that loved ones are not forced to liquidate assets to pay estate taxes. Examples include:
- Revocable living trusts: You can withdraw or change as you wish. Unlike a will, this vehicle helps you manage your property during your life and authorize your appointed trustee to use assets to your benefit if you become incapacitated. It also allows assets held in the trust to bypass probate-ideal for individuals who own property in multiple jurisdictions.
- Irrevocable trusts: Permanent and unchangeable, these are almost exclusively used for tax and asset protection purposes, including Medicaid trusts.
Don't leave your peace of mind and the future of your family to chance. Contact The McLawhorn Firm to start putting your estate planning strategy in place today. 202-449-9697
