Estate Planning Lawyer

MAILING ADDRESS

PO Box 345

Holts Summit, MO 65043

QUICK CONTACT

daniel@finderlaw.com

We are here, ready to tackle your unique situation and help you navigate the road ahead. 

Planning for a time when you are no longer there to provide for your family, care for your pets, or run your business can seem daunting. While it's difficult to think about a future without yourself in it, creating an estate plan is essential. For aging individuals, elder law plays a critical role in ensuring that long-term care needs, healthcare directives, and asset protection strategies are properly addressed as part of estate planning. With proper will and trust planning, you'll have peace of mind knowing that no matter what the future holds, your loved ones will be taken care of.

By putting in the work now to create an estate plan, you’ll benefit your family, business, and pets for years to come. Whether you're looking for online estate planning services or prefer to work directly with an attorney, making these preparations is crucial.

While everyone’s needs are unique, several documents are commonly drafted as part of any estate planning process:

A legal will is a document that expresses your wishes regarding your assets and, if applicable, the custody of your children or pets when you pass away. This is a critical component of inheritance planning, ensuring that your assets are distributed according to your wishes. Although this is a binding legal document, it does not prevent your loved ones from going through the probate process. Probate is a legal proceeding that can take months or even years, depending on the circumstances, as a judge legally assigns assets to the designated individuals. The will provides guidance to the judge, but the judge is not obligated to follow these instructions exactly. This is why we often recommend that clients, especially those with children or valuable assets, invest in a trust to ensure that nothing is left to the discretion of a judge. Finder Law is here to help with all your will planning and trust needs.

A trust has several components. The first step is selecting a Trustee to act as your representative upon your death. You typically also choose one or two backup Trustees in case your first choice predeceases you or is unable or unwilling to perform their duties as Trustee. The trust document gives the Trustee authority over finances, life insurance proceeds, funeral planning, and more, enabling them to make the necessary decisions. This is an essential part of will and trust planning, ensuring that your assets are managed according to your wishes.

Often, there are two types of authority granted in a Durable Power of Attorney: one for financial decisions and the other for medical decisions. Under each, you would appoint a representative to make those decisions for you once you’re no longer able to do so yourself. You would also choose one or more successors in the event that your first choice is unable or unwilling to perform their duties. The financial authority would include access to bank accounts, the ability to sell property, and re-title any property owned. Medical authority would include access to medical records, decisions regarding surgeries or treatments, and long-term care decisions, to name a few. Durable Powers of Attorney are a cornerstone of elder law, particularly in planning for scenarios where aging individuals require representation for critical financial or healthcare decisions. This document is a critical part of your estate tax planning strategy.

A Healthcare Directive is a legal document that provides instructions regarding your medical wishes in the event that you are unable to communicate them yourself. This can include preferences about life-prolonging procedures, medical treatments you want or do not want, and the circumstances under which you wish to receive or decline those treatments.

A Pour Over Will is used in conjunction with a trust. It simply states that if you forgot to include anything in your trust, your wish is that it would be transferred to the trust upon your passing. This document can simplify the process for your loved ones by ensuring that all your assets are properly managed within the trust.

If you own a home or land, you can use a Beneficiary Deed to transfer ownership from you personally to your trust. The benefit of this document is that when you pass away, ownership and control of the property automatically go to the trust. If the property needs to be sold for any reason, your Trustee can proceed without waiting for the lengthy probate process.

This is a simple document that transfers all of your owned property into the trust you have created. By doing this, all assets fall under the legal authority of the trust, simplifying the management of your estate.

You can create a list of specific items, such as jewelry, firearms, or other valuable assets, to be given to a particular person in the event of your passing. This list can help make the division of your estate simpler and ensure that special or sentimental items go to the individuals who will value them the most.

With over 10 years of experience, Finder Law is here to help you with developing everything from a simple last will & testament to the development of an estate plan that will cover all your assets and protect your legacy.

Contact us today for a free consultation.