When you pass away, you will want your property and savings to be distributed according to your plan, not someone else’s plan. Estate planning is essential to ensure that your wishes are carried out the way you design them to be.
With a simple Last Will and Testament, you can give your property to your surviving spouse and/or children in the manner you choose. You can select someone you trust to carry out your wishes, so that a stranger is not appointed to do it. You can arrange for special protections if your children are minors, provide for adopted children, grandchildren, or designate another relative or a charity to receive your estate. If you pass away without a will, your estate will be distributed according to state inheritance law.
A trust is a useful estate planning tool when you want to give up ownership of part of your property and use it for the benefit of others. By setting up a trust, you transfer ownership of the property you choose and convey it to a trustee, who is directed by your Trust Agreement to use your property as you direct. Parents may want to protect their children by conveying property to a trust for the children’s benefit. In that case, the trustee will control the spending of the trust so that the children cannot waste it. The trustee cannot spend the money on themselves. In this way, the person setting up the trust maintains control even though he or she no longer owns the property. Other estate planning techniques may involve the use of life insurance proceeds to provide funds to the beneficiary that are not part of the probate estate. The Nevada Spendthrift Trust Law allows a person to set up a trust for him or herself and manage it. Black & LoBello will use the right legal tools to ensure that your wishes are carried out after you pass away.
If you are injured or sick and cannot speak, do your family and friends know what type of medical treatment you want? By completing a Durable Health Care Power of Attorney and Medical Directive, a person may describe his or her wishes regarding long-term care, whether and when to halt medical treatment and whether or not to cease providing nutrition and hydration by artificial means. Planning ahead can spare a person’s family and friends anguish and confusion.
At Black & LoBello, we understand that not one estate plan fits all. Our attorneys will provide you with a customized and individual plan for your estate. |
