ESTATE PLANNING
Simply stated, estate planning is creating an outline for what your resources and possessions are and to whom they should be given upon your incapacity or death. While no one likes to think about death, it is wise to make plans to address the questions your family and friends will have should you become incapacitated or die. This is a tremendous gift to your family and friends. I will work with you and your family to design sophisticated estate plans, utilizing various tools, including trusts, to anticipate future needs, financial positions, and taxes. The planning will assist in avoiding family disputes or hurt feelings.
Already have an estate plan? I offer a complimentary review of your existing plan to ensure that your needs, estate, and laws have not changed significantly.
Some of the tools I use are:
- Simple and Complex Will Drafting
- Trusts
- Living and Testamentary Trusts
- Revocable and Irrevocable Trusts
- Insurance Planning and Life Insurance Trusts
- Special Needs Trusts
- Guardianships & Conservatorships, Including Guardian Ad Litem Services
- Powers of Attorney
- Durable General
- Financial
- Medical
- Living Wills
- Advance Directives
- Charitable Planning
- Medicaid and Disability Planning
- Asset Protection Planning
LONG-TERM CARE ASSISTANCE
For most families, it is critical to plan for housing for their senior members. Whether in the home or in a facility, the high cost of long-term care requires careful planning. Most elderly folks will need long term care of some sort. Planning ahead for the time when these decisions need to be made, make the implementation much easier. I will discuss with you the long-term care options available, including long-term care insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, and preparing for caring for elderly folks at home.
My practice includes helping you to find an appropriate assisted living facility if you are unable to live at home. Together, we will investigate what types of living arrangements are likely to give you the most independence for the longest amount of time for the least amount of money out of pocket.
POWERS OF ATTORNEY
Unfortunately, not all long-term care is necessitated by older age. If you become incapacitated, you will no longer be able to manage your own affairs. Planning for such a contingency is a great way to help your family manage very challenging situations. The emotional toll can make the process intimidating, lengthy and stressful. With a solid plan in place, the costs and time to you, your family and your estate will be significantly reduced.
Durable General POA and Financial POA: Durable general power of attorney and financial power of attorney will allow your designee to make decisions on your behalf, with knowledge of your wishes and desires, while you are incapacitated and unable to make these decisions on your own.
Durable Medical POA: In addition to planning for your financial affairs to be handled appropriately during incapacity, you should establish a plan for your medical care. Whether you use a health care proxy or a durable medical power of attorney, you will be able to appoint a person you trust to make medical decisions for you. Without the stress of having to make those decisions immediately, you and your designee will have time to discuss what type of care you want or do not want.
A living will, and advance directives, will inform your family and friends of your preferences regarding medical treatments, medications and life-extending measures.
ASSET PROTECTION
Asset protection refers to planning for the best use of your valuable possessions for the future use of your family or the beneficiaries of your estate. There are many forms of asset protection, which can range from offshore asset protection trusts (OAPT) to simple re-titling of assets. The type of asset protection that is right for you will depend on your needs and the size of your estate. Asset protection is not hiding your assets, it is a legitimate and legal way to plan for the protection of your assets now and into the future.
Some areas of asset protection include:
- Utilizing Unique State Exemptions
- Titling and Gifting Decisions
- Utilizing Insurance Policies
- Drafting Appropriate Marital Agreements
- Creating Business Entities, Including Limited Liability Companies, Including Family Limited Partnerships
- Creating Asset Protection Trusts, Including Offshore Asset Protection Trusts (OAPT) or Domestic Asset Protection Trusts (DAPT)
- Offshore Trusts: The king of all asset protection tools is the offshore Trust. However, we do not use offshore Trusts to engage in income tax evasion planning. In fact, in most cases there is no tax advantage.
- Drafting Trusts, Including, but not limited to, Special Needs, Generation-Skipping and Charitable
GUARDIANSHIP & CONSERVATORSHIP
It is an irony of life that we start life needing a guardian and conservator (usually parent(s) act as both for their children) and often end our lives needing the same assistance. I will help protect children, disabled or incapacitated family members and their assets, through the use of guardianships, conservatorships, guardians at litem and special needs trusts, as needed.
Guardianship
A guardian is appointed by the court to assist a minor or impaired person in making daily decisions including both physical and medical challenges. Impairment can be due to accident, disease, surgery, mental or physical disability, or declining abilities. A guardian is usually appointed to a minor or to a person who is unable to care for his or her own physical health, safety, or well-being. This is not the same as a conservator, but one person can serve in both roles.
A note on guardianships for children: most parents think about whom they would like to raise their children, if something happens to both of them. However, it is important to have your estate plan also address how one of you would both work and care for your children. A surviving spouse and the children left without one, or both parents, may need various types of counseling. These are matters that we should address when speaking about the care you would like to see for your children. Another area we should explore is whether your beneficiaries should receive your assets directly or in trust.
Conservatorship
A conservator is appointed by the court when a person is unable to effectively handle financial decision-making. A conservator has a fiduciary duty to protect the assets of the minor or incapacitated or disabled person. A conservator will hold the protected person's assets as trustee for the protected person and will be required to produce an accounting of how assets have been handled for the protected person. This is not the same as a guardian but one person can serve in both roles.
Guardians Ad Litem
A guardian ad litem is a attorney, appointed by the court, to represent the interests of a minor or an incapacitated person. This attorney will prepare reports for the court and answer to the court as the representative of the person who is the minor or incapacitated person.
When Guardianships and/or Conservatorships are Contested
People do not always agree that they need the assistance of a guardian or a conservator.Whether you are the family member trying to care for a person who does not believe he or she needs help or a person who believes he or she is still able to make decisions for him- or herself, I can help mediate between yourself and your family members or other people.While litigation is one possible outcome, we can explore handling these matters short of going to a courtroom.Several areas we can investigate include the scope of the appointment, advance directives, care and placement decisions, and fiduciary compliance.I can handle removal proceedings, if necessary.
PROBATE & ESTATE LITIGATION
Do not let what you have heard about probate scare you off. Colorado is one state that has adopted much of the Uniform Probate Code. That said, estate planning does make the process much more streamlined, less time consuming and more private as probate is open to the public. In cases in which estate planning has not been done or effectively achieved, I can handle your probate matters before the court. My years and experiences in court assist in making me an excellent court advocate when needed. Again, most matters do not need expensive estate litigation but on the occasion that they do, I am a talented advocate for you and your family.
TRUSTS
Trusts are a great way to plan for your future and the future of your family, your friends and your favorite charities. As we all know, there is nothing sure in life except death and taxes .... and death taxes. We can start to plan early to avoid paying estate and inheritance taxes than necessary. There are many types of trusts, not all of which I will discuss here, though I do want to mention a word about special needs trusts and charitable trusts. Otherwise, you and I will discuss your vision for the future, the ends you want to achieve and our best techniques to get you there, whether that is a revocable trust or an irrevocable life insurance trust or anything in between.
Charitable Dispositions
You may have a charity you want to support or you may want to reduce your estate taxes. Your reasons to give to a charity are yours alone. The Roaring Fork valley has a plethora of outstanding charities and charity foundations which you may choose to support. Planned giving is an excellent way to accomplish your goals and support your community.
Special Needs Trusts
Special needs trusts are one way of allowing families to plan for caring for family members who are unable to handle their own financial and medical needs.Special needs trusts can also be helpful in cases in which short-term care or long-term nursing care is needed and spending down for Medicaid might become an issue.Early planning for such potentialities helps achieve better financial outcomes for the families.We can discuss what type of trust is best for your situation.
FINANCIAL ABUSE
While many people think of strangers taking financial advantage of the elderly, many others think of family members taking financial advantage of aging parents. Unfortunately, both are true. With years of law enforcement and prosecutorial experience, I am confident I can help you determine if your parent or elderly friend is the victim of financial abuse and can guide you through protecting your loved one.
ELDER CARE ADVOCACY
From finding the right care, to the right assisted living, the right nursing home, counselors and therapists, financial support and in-home services, I provide assistance in, and advocating for, you and your loved one.
ADVANCE DIRECTIVES
Our firm can assist with living wills and other forms of advance directives. These documents are written legal instructions regarding the preferences for medical care if the person in question cannot make decisions for themselves.
GIFTING CONSIDERATIONS
When you give a gift of money or assets, you may need to note what is being given. For example, some gifts are tax-free for both the donor and the recipient, but others may warrant the payment of taxes. We can help you navigate the dos and don'ts of gift considerations if you are unsure how to follow the correct legal procedure.