While it can be painful to think about or discuss with loved ones, estate planning ensures that you can choose who inherits your assets and that it’s done efficiently.
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Looking back on your life, you can see the results of your hard work. You have your home, furnishings, possessions and the savings and investments you carefully managed to safeguard for the future. Your last will and testament provides peace of mind knowing that your loved ones will receive your assets according to your wishes.
Preparing your last will and testament also clears up any ambiguity among your survivors regarding your wishes for your property and heads off possible disputes by making your intentions clear and unambiguous. The last thing you want is a surprise in the administration of your estate. Contact the experienced estate attorneys at , to schedule an appointment and begin your estate planning.
It may be time to start thinking about the future and the potential unnecessary burden your family faces if you die without a will. Our estate attorneys can help guide you in preparing a last will and testament that is sure to protect your legacy.
A living will is a document that allows your agent (a proxy, health care decision-maker or representative) to make major medical decisions for you. A living will is helpful if you become too ill to decide for yourself due to failing health or if you enter a coma or persistent vegetative state and cannot communicate your wishes to your health care provider.
A living will empowers your agent to supervise and make decisions about the kind and quality of care you receive according to your wishes. Our experienced and compassionate attorneys at , can help you determine when you need a living will and help you create one. We know how stressful it can be to think about future illnesses, and we strive to make the process as painless as possible for you and your loved ones.
We’ve answered some common questions about estate planning and probate on this page. We invite you to contact us with any additional questions you may have.
Many people are hesitant to create an estate plan because they don’t know where to begin or what they should include. Making these decisions on your own can feel paralyzing, but the good news is that the entire process is much easier with the help of an attorney.
Every estate plan will include a will, and most should include a living will. Trusts can be helpful legal instruments, but they are not necessary or appropriate for all estates. When you work with the experienced attorneys at our firm, we can quickly help you determine which estate planning documents are right for you, including some not mentioned here. We will guide you through creating a thorough and legally sound estate plan.
You will need to update your will after any significant changes in life or family circumstances that could impact your estate or your intended heirs. For instance, most people might update their will after getting married or divorced or following the birth of a child. Even if you haven’t experienced significant chances recently, it’s a good idea to at least review your will every few years.
You certainly can take the do-it-yourself approach to estate planning, but it is not advisable. As mentioned above, most people won’t know which documents to include before consulting with an attorney.
Moreover, printable online forms are templated documents that are difficult or impossible to customize, increasing the risk that your estate plan will be incomplete and ambiguously worded. Having an unclear or poorly written estate plan can be worse than not having one because it can lead to confusion, family strife and even litigation. The financial consequences of these problems would outweigh any money saved by writing an estate plan without an attorney.
When someone passes away, their property passes through different legal channels:
Regardless of the property type, it will pass through at least one of these channels during property transfer.
During this phase, assets the decedent was on title for are transferred to the next person on title, if any. For example, if the decedent jointly owned a bank account with a family member, it would then belong solely to that family member. This concept applies to other property types, including real estate, cars, investment accounts and businesses.
The contract phase is when property is passed on to a designated beneficiary. It could be a person listed on an IRA or investment account. It could be a pay-on-death (POD) or transfer-on-death designation (TOD) on a bank account or savings account. There are also other various forms of beneficiary designations.
Functionally, there is a contract with the entity managing those funds or that asset that says that when someone passes away, those funds or that asset is to be automatically transferred to a designated person. This process will unfold regardless of what the decedent’s will says and regardless of if probate takes place.
Probate is a court-supervised process that functions as a catchall to manage assets that were not transferred through title or contract. In this process, a personal representative gathers any remaining assets in a decedent’s estate and distributes them per the terms of their will.
In Colorado, the answer is usually no unless you have an estate worth more than $12 million. This is the federal estate tax limit for an individual. Estates of less than $12 million will not be taxed, and the probate process is straightforward with the help of an attorney. In many cases, it may be preferable to have a trust.
A trust is a legal entity that goes on title on a person’s assets to manage where those assets go upon death. Assets must be titled in the name of the trust to be effective. For example, a person needs to put a deed or bank account in the name of their trust. Of course, there are different ramifications for doing this, but a trust is only effective to the extent that it is on title and funded. A trust functions similarly to a will and would be subject to the probate process.
If you are ready to take steps to plan your last will and testament, you need an estate planning lawyer. An experienced estate planning attorney from , can help you divide your assets appropriately and according to your wishes.
