Estate Planning, Special Needs Planning, Trust Administration, Estate Administration
Estate Planning
Our estate planning attorneys advise clients regarding wills, powers of attorney, advance medical directives, and trust agreements.
Some attorneys will prepare an estate plan for a client and never fully explain how the plan works, especially when setting up a living trust. We make sure you fully understand the estate plan we’ve created, and work with you to make sure your asset structure works with your estate plan - i.e., making sure that payable on death beneficiaries named on accounts don’t undermine your estate plan. When establishing a living trust, it’s extremely important that the trust is “funded,” and our attorneys will work with you to ensure that this piece is completed, including the preparation and filing of deeds to transfer real estate to your trust, and working with your financial advisors or financial institutions as needed.
Special Needs Planning
Our attorneys also provide assistance with a myriad of legal issues relating to people with special needs, including the establishment of special needs trusts.
The purpose of a special needs trust is to supplement public benefits that the trust beneficiary may be eligible for, and to provide additional financial support to the trust beneficiary. Assets in a special needs trust are generally not counted as resources to the individual with special needs, which is essential for the trust beneficiary to maintain eligibility for public benefits, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid. As a supplement to public benefits, the assets of a special needs trust may provide for more comfort and productivity of the trust beneficiary, including opportunities for treatment and rehabilitation, housing, electronics, job training, vacations, etc.
There are different types of special needs trusts, and our team will work with you to determine what works best for your situation.
Neal Walters has an adult son with Down syndrome and is attuned to the issues faced by families of individuals with special needs. His personal background helps us to understand what our clients are going through and how to meet their needs.
Estate and Trust Administration
Talk to anyone that’s ever been through the estate administration process and you’ll likely see the discomfort on their face. It’s a daunting process and can sometimes take years. We help clients navigate the probate process, including the preparation of inventories and accountings.
Trust administration, especially administration of a special needs trust, can be extremely complex. Trustees have a variety of duties and powers, and failure to adhere to these requirements can expose a trustee to legal action. Our attorneys can help you navigate the complicated trust administration process.
In addition to simply guiding executors/administrators through the administration process, our attorneys can also step into the role of executor/administrator of an estate or trustee of a trust.
