A Minnesota estate planning attorney can help you establish a will, trust, healthcare directive, durable power of attorney, and other legal documents to control and protect your assets when you are incapacitated or pass away. An attorney can help you accomplish your objectives and minimize taxes through thoughtful estate planning. This includes helping clients plan to distribute their property with carefully drafted plans aligned with their goals.
Unfortunately, a lifetime of earnings can be wasted on unnecessary taxes and fees through poor estate planning (or no estate planning). By meeting with an estate planning attorney, your attorney an analyze your situation, identify your goals, and prepare a customized estate plan for you and your heirs.
Trusts
A trust avoids probate, saving legal costs and avoiding your assets from being tied up in court for months (or years). Trusts have many other benefits. Only through careful planning can you ensure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes. For most people, this means preparing a plan to transfer personal property to family members or charitable causes without delay or unnecessary expense for the recipients of assets after death.
Power of Attorney
A power of attorney is a document authorizing someone to act on your behalf. Your power of attorney may be general, giving the person significant control, or limited, giving them control over certain aspects.
Guardianship
If you have minor children or other dependents under your care, a proper estate plan can nominate a guardian to replace you upon your passing. This reduces the potential for court fights over who will care for your children or other dependents.
Wills
A well thought out and planned Will can save your family a lot of time and money after your death. While it may be difficult to think about, planning now will help your family in the future.
Elder Law
Elder law is often not taken into consideration until it is too late. By planning in advance, it is possible to save a significant amount of money and time.
Health Care Directives
A health care directive is often created in the estate planning process in order to allow the testator to name an agent on their behalf. They are able to give them instructions as to their wishes if they become incapacitated or need medical attention but are not able to make decisions for themselves.
Probate
Probate is a court process required for everyone with significant assets (including those who have a will), unless they have established a trust to avoid probate. In probate, a personal representative is responsible for “probating” the will. If you do not have a will or did not name a personal representative, the court will designate a personal representative for you. In order to protect the interests of someone who has died, the Court can take control over a matter that causes disagreement.
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