Estate planning is not only for the elderly, rich or those with families. It is for anyone who wants to have control over what happens to his or her care and finances during incapacity as well as their assets after death. The estate planning attorneys at Hutchings Barsamian Mandelcorn, LLP have over forty years of experience assisting clients in all aspects of creating and executing comprehensive estate plans.
If you die without an estate plan, intestacy laws will dictate how your assets are distributed. Therefore, by failing to create an estate plan you are essentially relinquishing control to the state. On the other hand, if you create an estate plan now, and review it periodically throughout the remainder of your life, you can ensure that your assets are distributed according to your direction after your death. This could include bequests to your relatives, as well as other individuals, organizations, and charities. You can also protect your assets during your lifetime and after as well as minimize estate and gift taxes.
Asset Protection
As the average lifespan increases from year to year, it becomes more likely that an individual will require some form of elder care in the last years of life. Unfortunately, if not planned for properly, long-term care can consume considerable assets in a short period of time. If you engage in Medicaid planning during the golden years, you can make it much more likely that the costs will be reduced and that your assets will be left to your loved ones. The attorneys at Hutchings Barsamian Mandelcorn, LLP also help to protect your assets by avoiding unnecessary probate settlement, transfer, and guardianship/conservatorship costs.
Another aspect of asset protection is sheltering assets from others such as creditors and divorcing spouses. By using trusts and other estate planning tools, you can effectively protect your assets before and after your death from creditors.
Tax Minimization
We at Hutchings Barsamian Mandelcorn, LLP can help you avoid unnecessary expenses at death. While only estates worth over a threshold amount pay a federal estate tax, one must consider the Massachusetts estate tax exemption as well. Our attorneys regularly use transfers during the client’s life and after his or her death, as well as trusts and other vehicles, to limit the amount of taxes to be paid by an estate. This ensures that your assets end up where you want them instead of in government coffers.
Charitable Giving
It might be your wish to leave assets to charitable organizations or causes of your choice. This is an admirable desire, and our attorneys will make it as easy as possible for you to accomplish this objective. An estate plan can be set up in a variety of ways to maximize the benefits of charitable giving to achieve your philanthropic goals.
If you are considering an estate plan, contact the skilled attorneys at Hutchings Barsamian Mandelcorn, LLP today.
You can call our office in Wellesley Hills at (781) 431-2231.
