Estate Planning
You have worked hard all your life to accumulate personal assets, and the team at Geisler Patterson Law wants to ensure that you pass on your legacy to you family – at the right time and in the manner you desire – rather than have your hard-earned assets consumed by estate taxes, creditors, predators, and probate expenses.
Estate planning is complex, varied, and multi-dimensional, and must be sensitively designed to achieve a variety of objectives, including, but not limited to:
- Preserving wealth
- Asset protection
- Avoiding probate
- Eliminating or reducing estate taxes
- Preventing the erosion of retirement distribution accounts to estate and income taxes
- Protecting against the potential costs of long-term care
- Asset management in the event of illness or incapacity
Are Estate Planning Services Right for You?
“Estate planning” may seem like an abstract concept, but it’s an important legal step to take if you want to:
- Control your property while you are alive
- Take care of yourself and your loved ones if you become disabled
- Give what you have to whom you want, the way you want, when you want
- Save every last tax dollar
- Avoid every professional fee and court cost legally possible
Comprehensive estate planning includes financial planning and can help you live your life the way you want, as well as ensure that your wishes are upheld even after you may not be able to express them yourself.
Martha Patterson believes that estate planning includes planning not only for what happens if you die, but also what happens if you end up living with dementia, disability, or disease. Furthermore, estate planning should consider those left behind and create contingencies to ensure that your loved ones are protected from creditors, predators, court costs, and divorce. Your estate planning should include details for what happens if your spouse remarries, and your plan should be carefully crafted to ensure that, if you have a child with special needs or special challenges, that child does not lose access to the public benefits they are entitled to.
An estate plan should include a will, trust, details on the power of attorney, and an advance healthcare directive. A dedicated estate planning attorney like Martha Patterson can help you determine all the details and craft the legal documents that will make your directions a reality. Don’t let hesitation or ignorance dictate what happens to you or your loved ones in the years to come — call Geisler Patterson Law today for a free 30-minute phone consultation!