Estate planning is the process of making plans for the management and transfer of your estate after your death, using advanced directives including a will, trust, insurance policies. A proper estate plan has benefits including deciding who will handle your affairs, assigning guardians for children and pets, determining how your assets will be distributed, excluding certain individuals from receiving your property, specifying your final arrangements, deciding what should happen in a medical emergency, designating health care agents, granting trusted individuals access to your medical records, adding conditions to asset distributions and avoiding probate court.

ELG attorneys will discuss your wishes and draft the legal documents required to memorialize your plans and establish the legacy that you deserve.

We will discuss your wishes and draft the legal documents required to memorialize your plans and establish the legacy that you deserve.

A last will and testament is one of the most important parts of any estate plan. In many ways, it works as a set of instructions for loved ones to follow. The will designates who should be the executor of your estate, how your assets should be handled, and who should inherit certain property.

Health care proxies can protect you and your medical care wishes in trying times. We will assist you to ensure you have planned accordingly.

A power of attorney is a legal document that allows someone else to act on your behalf. A POA can be helpful to older people and others who want to choose a trusted person to act on their behalf when they cannot. You can plan ahead by creating a POA to appoint a substitute decision-maker, also called an agent. A POA can be used as a tool to help plan for the future, including the possibility that you’ll be unable to make important financial decisions due to dementia, traumatic brain injury, or another impairment that could affect your mental function. When used for advance planning, a POA generally is “durable,” meaning it continues to be effective even if you become incapacitated.

A POA can also be used for short-term purposes. For example, a servicemember being deployed overseas or a college student can create a POA so someone can pay bills, sell property, or handle other business in their absence.

If you don’t create a POA in advance, a friend or family member might have to go to court to have a guardian appointed if you become incapacitated and are no longer able to make decisions for yourself – and that process can be lengthy, expensive, and very public.

The ELG Team can assist you with any questions or concerns you may have in basic estate planning and advanced directives. Call us today!

There are two types of trusts- Both allow individuals to make arrangements ahead of time in case of incapacity and generally keep financial affairs private. An irrevocable trust is a trust the settlor (the "grantor") cannot change or revoke. Grantors give up control of the assets they put into irrevocable trusts. For this reason, an irrevocable trust can reduce estate taxes. It can also help avoid the probate process upon death.Though there are exceptions, there’s no way to change an irrevocable trust once the assets are in the trust. Either all beneficiaries of the trust must agree to the change, or a court must order a change . The main difference between irrevocable trusts and revocable or living trusts is who has control of the assets in the trust. With an irrevocable trust, the grantor forfeits control of the assets once they go into the trust; with a revocable trust, the grantor has control over the trust assets until death. If you have questions about basic estate planning and advanced directives, let's set up a consultation and get started. We are here to assist you!