Wills, Trusts & Estates

Protect Your Assets & Your Family

Everyone tries their best to plan and prepare for the future. You purchase insurance policies to protect your assets and your health, as well as investing for your retirement. You routinely make decisions that will impact your future. Have you made sure that your family is protected and provided for in the event of your death? No one likes to think about the time when they are no longer here, but it is important to make sure that your loved ones are taken care of and your assets are protected in the way that you want.

  • Wills, Trusts and Estates

  • Probate

  • Power of Attorney

  • Will Contests

  • Asset Protection

 
wills.jpg

Wills.

A will is a legal document that allows you to decide the distribution of your property and name a guardian for your minor children after you die.  If there is no will in place, you will have no say in what happens to your assets and property after your death.  There should be no reason for this to happen.

 A knowledgeable attorney will assist you in all of your estate planning needs.  They will discuss your options and write a precise will to protect your assets.

 One of our lawyers will discuss your options with you & assist you in preparing simple or complex wills, pour-over wills, living wills, testamentary trust wills, and holographic wills to trusts.

Trusts.

There are two ways to protect your assets and also provide for your loved ones after your death — wills and trusts.  With a trust, you can create a separate legal entity that protects your property and assets from probate and taxes.  Trusts can be established or a plan can be set for a trust in your will.  There are different types of trusts you can establish, which will determine how much control you will have over the property that you place in a trust.  

 A knowledgeable and experienced trust attorney can discuss with you the different types of trusts available and help you decide on the best option to protect your property. Let one of the attorneys at the Law Offices of Leon I Kurland review your options with you.

Probate.

It is important to understand that your estate will still have to go through the probate process, even if you have a will.  Probate is the legal process that an estate goes through to make sure your property is distributed in accordance with your will or according to the laws of the state in which you reside, in the absence of a will.

 The probate process can take approximately a year to complete.  The validity of a will must be established and all heirs, creditors, and those who have may have a vested interest in the decedent’s property must be notified of the decedent’s passing.  Any disputes over the contents and distribution of assets in a will must be resolved in probate court.