At Linville Law Office, PLLC, our estate planning attorneys understand how much you care about your family and your legacy. We know how important it is for your affairs to be in order and your loved ones fully protected if something happens to you. This is what a complete and updated Estate Plan accomplishes.
Unfortunately, many of us will fail to properly plan in advance. There are many reasons people procrastinate, however, the reality is if you don’t plan while you are able, the intestate and guardianship laws of your state will make the decisions for you – often with increased court supervision, added expense, and not in accordance with your wishes or the best interests of your family. The time to plan is now, because you can’t predict when you will die or if you might become incapacitated.
At Linville Law Office, PLLC, we focus on learning about your family’s unique needs and then work with you to design a plan to meet them. It’s that simple. We are consistent, patient and professional, giving each new case the attention it deserves. We welcome and encourage the inclusion of your financial, tax and insurance advisors in the entire planning process. Organizing your Estate Plan now will not eliminate the grief in the event of your incapacity or death, but will ease the burden on your loved ones.
In addition to carrying out your wishes for the distribution of assets at death, a good estate plan accomplishes much more. When designing the plan that is right for you, we will discuss a variety of important items, and address all that apply in your case.
Disability Planning
We make sure you have a financial and health care plan in place should you become disabled, including naming the best person(s) to carry out these plans. Every adult, regardless of your net worth, needs these basic documents in place to avoid the expense and uncertainty of a court supervised guardianship proceeding in the event of an unexpected disability or incapacity.
Guardianship for Minor Children
Plan for the legal guardianship for any minor children, including naming a legal guardian and creating a plan to address the minor’s future financial needs. At a minimum, every parent with a minor child needs a will appointing the guardian for any minor child in the event of the unexpected death of the parents and a plan in place to provide the financial resources needed for the care and education of the minor child.
Revocable Living Trusts
A Revocable Living Trust (RLT) is an estate planning tool that allows clients to reduce probate fees while also providing privacy as to the ultimate disposition of the deceased property. We help clients understand how RLTs work and whether one is right for them. If planning includes funding of the RLT with your assets during lifetime, our experienced staff will guide you through this process.
Asset Protection Planning
Advance planning to protect a family’s wealth from future claims and creditors is often a concern of our clients. Whether the potential risk is from future liability lawsuits, business ventures, divorce, or long-term care costs, we can offer solutions that best protect you and your family.
Special Needs Planning
Providing plans for family members with special needs (such as disabled children or aging parents) is a significate part of our practice. Such preplanning is essential to prevent disruption in of current or future government benefits.
Asset Protection Trusts for Children
We can help create plans for children (or other beneficiaries) who might be irresponsible with money or who may need future protection from creditors or divorce. This is done with trusts tailored to your specific situation.
Insurance Planning
Review existing life insurance, disability income insurance, and long-term care insurance and gain a better understanding of their role in your estate plan. Your insurance needs will vary depending on your stage of life.
Beneficiary Designations Forms
A complete estate plan must include a review and update of all beneficiary designation forms (or other legal document) that control the disposition of your life insurance benefits, retirement assets, and bank or investment accounts outside of your estate planning documents. These accounts and assets often comprise a significant part of a person’s wealth and is an essential part of the estate planning process.
Succession Business Planning
Judy works closely with business owners to understand their business structure and establish the best for the transition required at retirement, disability, or death. Her years of practicing in the corporate and tax law section of a mid-sized elder law firm bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to clients with this special estate planning needs.
Pets
It is important to plan for how best to provide for your beloved pets.
Reduce Taxes and Probate Costs
Our planning will discuss how best to minimize taxes, court costs, and unnecessary legal fees.
Digital Assets
An increasing problem in today’s digital society is gaining access, control and understanding of what happens to our digital assets (including social media accounts, online banking, photos and documents in the cloud, etc.) We make sure you have included this in your planning and provide options such as the LifeBinder® to help you manage this information.
Charitable Wishes
We help clients make sure their charitable wishes will be carried out. Plans incorporating charitable gifts often provide for tax planning opportunities benefiting the individual beneficiaries.
Letters of Instructions and Other
Other related items may include discussion of end of life decisions, specific letters of instructions, preparing memorial instructions, and pre-planning for final expenses. It is important for the persons you have chosen to carry out your plan know where to find the information they need, including legal documents, location of assets and more detailed directives that may be helpful. Much of this information is completed by you following the estate planning process. However, we do provide our estate planning clients with a wealth of resources to help them gather and organize this information, including helpful planning forms and an online LifeBinder® account.
Your journey with the Linville Law Team begins with our initial consultation process, where we work together to create a plan designed to meet your objectives. If you would like for us to help you with your estate planning please call us at 704-323-6712 or Request A Consultation now. Be sure to look through our Client Testimonials to see how we have helped others.