April 18, 2014
At Wokwicz Law Offices, traditional estate planning means planning in advance for disability and/or death by organizing our clients’ financial and personal affairs to make sure that key life issues have been considered and addressed while our clients are still in good health and of sound mind.
General Aims of Traditional Estate Planning
Many of our clients take comfort in knowing that with proper planning, it is possible to set up legal structures to ensure that their wishes are followed in the event that they fall ill or pass away.
Give Yourself Peace of Mind
A properly crafted estate plan can give you peace of mind, knowing your assets and family are well protected. Our estate planning lawyers will help you get there.
Our estate planning attorneys work closely with clients to consider the many questions and issues that arise during estate planning. They excel at helping people consider their options, goals and the law surrounding their situation. Our lawyers then craft legal documents that will protect our clients’ wishes and decisions in the event that our clients fall ill or pass away.
Advance Directives for Health Care and Financial Decisions During Your Lifetime
Sometimes growing old means growing sick. We can help you arrange your affairs so that you, not a court, determine who will be in charge of your assets and health care if you are unable to care for yourself. We will discuss and address whom you want in charge so that you are cared for in the manner that you direct in advance.
The following powerful documents can dictate what powers your caregivers should have over your health care and finances, and direct if you want to be kept alive on feeding tubes or life sustaining equipment if you are ever unable to make these decisions.
- Revocable Trust;
- Power of Attorney for Health Care and Advance Directives and Living Wills;
- Durable Power of Attorney.
With a proper estate plan that includes some or all of these documents, we can avoid the need for a guardianship if you ever become incompetent. This allows you, not a judge, to determine who will be in charge of your care and finances and avoids the need for costly guardianship proceedings.
Asset Disposition and Planning Upon Death
Individuals with a positive net worth are entitled to pass along their assets to family, friends or organizations upon their death. Planning in advance for who will be in charge of your assets and who will receive your assets upon your death is a crucial step in the traditional estate planning process.
There are many legal tools for passing on assets to others, some of which are listed below:
- Last Wills and Testaments;
- Revocable Trusts;
- Irrevocable Trusts.
As part of our estate planning process, our lawyers will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of avoiding probate and what type of estate planning documents are right for your situation.
We will discuss proper planning techniques for any family who may need special consideration:
- Young children or grandchildren;
- Disabled children (even if they are adults);
- Other planning issues due to your unique family or assets.
We will help you implement a plan so that your assets are distributed as you intend, and not decided by the courts or Wisconsin’s interstate laws.
Avoiding Probate and Unnecessary Fees, Costs and Taxes
A poorly prepared estate plan can result in asset distribution decisions decided by probate courts. Failure to properly plan can also see assets subject to unnecessary taxes or administration expenses. We work hard to avoid probate (where appropriate) and to limit any asset reduction to unnecessary taxation or fees.
Moreover, we work to protect your beneficiary’s inheritance from creditors or second marriages, where appropriate.
Beneficiary Designations and Account Titling
We will discuss your beneficiary designations and accounting titling and how that fits into the context of your estate plan. Depending upon your assets and family situation, we may recommend a Transfer on Death Deed and a discussion of beneficiaries named on non-probate assets. If appropriate, we will discuss the update of these documents. It is crucial that your estate plan takes into consideration all of your assets, including assets with beneficiary designations and other forms of joint ownership. When we discuss and prepare your estate plan, we will consider your total picture and discuss the importance of your estate plan and beneficiary designations working together to achieve the desired results.
Funeral Disposition Planning
Where appropriate, we can help plan for your specific wishes as how to organize your funeral and burial ceremony, including who should be in charge of your funeral arrangements and whether you will be buried or cremated.
Some Matters Are Not Considered Traditional Estate Planning
Generally, traditional estate planning does not cover issues such as protecting assets from a nursing home or making lifetime gifts to children.
Call for an Estate Planning Appointment
Clearly, there is a lot to talk about when we discuss your traditional estate planning needs and desires. We recognize that each family and person is unique and therefore each estate plan needs to be crafted and properly drafted and explained to accomplish each client’s goals.
Please feel free to call us on 262-658-2181 for an appointment. We will briefly discuss the purpose of your call and we can let you know if your appointment falls within Traditional Estate Planning allowing for a free initial in office meeting.