A tailored estate plan is more than just a will. We make sure that our clients understand the financial and legal tools available that can ensure preservation of value and provide the means to pass assets to heirs efficiently and according to their wishes. We help clients develop trusts, wills, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives. We understand that estate planning is very personal and we listen carefully to our clients’ wishes before crafting an estate plan that will best help them achieve their objectives.

In addition, we can help your loved ones administer your estate after your passing. If you have been named as a personal representative and are feeling lost and confused, we can provide clarity and understanding. We can interpret your loved one’s estate plan and assist with transferring assets or resolving outstanding issues.

what’s included

Our law firm’s comprehensive estate planning process may include:

• Last Will, which serves as a guide to the probate court as to how property is distributed and who is in charge of administering the probate proceeding. A Will can also make provisions for your children in the event that you pass while they are still minors.

• Power of Attorney, which allows you to appoint someone to act as your “attorney-in-fact” – an agent to manage your property & financial affairs.

• Health Care Directive, which allows you to appoint a health care agent to make health care decisions if you are not able and gives you the opportunity to provide instructions about your health care wishes.

• Trusts, which can be a vehicle that holds or manages assets for the beneficiaries of your estate. There are many types of trusts that address a variety of needs including minor children, pets, loved ones with special needs, life insurance, and more. Trusts can be a valuable tool to avoid probate, depending on your wishes and types of assets.

• Real Estate Deeds, which can make arrangements for your real estate. There are several options to convey your real estate or interest therein, both while you are alive and after your death. Making provisions for your real estate can dramatically reduce the stress upon your loved ones or executor after your death.

What’s a Trust?

Many people have preconceived notions about trusts being only for wealthy, elite people with massive estates - and that simply isn’t true. Trusts can be a valuable tool, depending on the the value of someone’s assets and how they want those assets distributed upon their death. Trusts are a mechanism or a vehicle to hold or manage assets for the benefit of a specific person or people. Trusts can allow assets to pass directly to heirs without the publicity and cost of probate. There are many types of trusts to fit a variety of circumstances, including people with minor children, people who are caregivers to disabled loves ones, business owners, pet owners, and more. Our law firm will evaluate each client’s estate and recommend a trust, if and only if it will truly benefit the estate.

What’s probate? should i avoid it?

Probate is a court process that oversees the administration of a deceased person’s estate and is required in cases where the decent meets specific criteria. Probate can be an expensive and time-consuming process and can be stressful for the person or people administering your estate.

If you do not wish to burden your loved ones with this challenge, your estate can be set up specifically to avoid probate. This includes specific provisions for the transfer of real estate and adding beneficiaries to your personal property accounts. It’s a common misconception that a Will alone will avoid probate. This is false - a Will does not avoid probate, rather, it serves as a guide to the probate court as to how to administer the estate and who will be in charge of the administration.

Incapacity Planning

Comprehensive estate planning at Blahnik, Prchal & Stoll also includes incapacity planning. Incapacity can be short term or long term, but results in a loss of decision-making capability; rendering the client incapable of making his or her own health care and financial decisions. The best estate plans include planning for both death and incapacity.