Estate planning involves creating legal instruments, such as wills and trusts, that control how your assets are distributed after death. It also addresses important matters during your lifetime, including asset protection and planning for how your healthcare and financial affairs will be managed if you experience temporary or long-term incapacity.
Life is unpredictable, but you can prepare for both the expected and the unexpected by putting the right legal documents in place to protect yourself and your family. Without a will or advance directives, judges or other individuals you may not know or trust will make critical decisions about your healthcare or estate, and those decisions may not reflect your wishes. For these reasons, working with a Charlottesville estate planning lawyer to complete your estate plan sooner rather than later is essential.
From your first simple will to complex estates requiring intricate asset protection, tax planning, and trust creation, our talented estate team at MichieHamlett works with you and your family to plan for a smooth generational legacy transfer. When it is time to administer the estate plan, our team guides fiduciaries and beneficiaries to carry out their loved one’s wishes. Should disputes ever arise during this process, our estate team, in conjunction with our many experienced litigators, will negotiate and litigate zealously on your behalf.
The estate team at MichieHamlett is prepared to advise and assist you in the full range of Virginia estate planning. Call on our attorneys for help with any estate planning matter, including:
The answer for most people is both. However, estate planning is a highly personal process that you should tailor to your specific needs and goals. Pulling a generic will or trust off the shelf and filling in the blanks is unlikely to serve you very well. At MichieHamlett, we take the time to sit down with you and discuss your needs and goals so you can communicate your wishes to us and we can advise you on the best way to get there.
Wills and trusts are the two main types of estate planning documents. With a will, you can name an executor for your estate, name a guardian for your minor children, and distribute your estate to your heirs and beneficiaries, including making specific gifts to family members, friends, your alma mater, hospitals, or charities of your choosing. A will ensures every part of your estate is accounted for and helps you leave a lasting legacy for future generations.
A trust may accomplish many of the same goals as a will when distributing property to family members or charitable organizations. It offers several advantages, remaining private so the details of the estate and its distribution stay confidential, unlike wills, which become public once filed for probate. Trusts also avoid probate entirely, which may accelerate estate distribution and reduce administrative costs. Different types of trusts serve specific purposes, such as providing for a family member with special needs without affecting eligibility for government assistance or facilitating generational wealth transfers in a tax-efficient manner. Although establishing a trust is often more complex and expensive than drafting a will, it may save the estate time and money later by avoiding probate. The most common type—a revocable living trust—allows you to establish it alongside a will with relative ease.
The important step is to sit down with an estate planning attorney you trust to draft the right combination of wills and trusts for your specific needs.
A power of attorney gives another person the authority to act on your behalf. For instance, if you got sick or were in an accident, someone with power of attorney could keep up your mortgage and insurance policies and pay other bills from your bank account, make deposits, and apply for benefits. Specific authority in advance healthcare directives can give someone the ability to make medical decisions on your behalf, such as where you receive care and what procedures you should or should not receive.
Make no mistake. Someone will make these decisions on your behalf, whether you want them to or not. The benefit of creating powers of attorney and advance directives is that you decide in advance who should have this authority to act for you. You choose someone you know and trust, and you have the opportunity to discuss your desires with them so they will act in accordance with your wishes. With these documents in place, you can avoid a guardianship or conservatorship imposed on you by the court without any input or say-so from you.
If you do not currently have an estate plan in place, contact us at MichieHamlett to begin securing your future and protecting your loved ones. If you already have a will or trust but many years have passed since its creation, we encourage you to schedule a review to ensure your documents still reflect your wishes and account for any births, deaths, marriages, divorces, or other life changes. A Charlottesville estate planning lawyer from our team could provide the guidance you need. Contact us today to arrange a consultation.
