Estate Planning Mediation
At Sperling & Associates, we offer estate planning mediation for families and parties interested in reaching agreements which preserve and distribute a family’s wealth. The mediation of estate planning issues can help clarify issues regarding future medical care, establish support for loved ones, and make sure that upon death, the decedent’s estate passes to intended loved ones in a stress-free and orderly fashion without court involvement.
An effective estate plan should consider current assets, as well as assets to be acquired in the future, and the anticipated increase in value of your existing estate. Steps can be taken to preserve your estate and protect it from excessive costs and taxes.
Your estate plan may require the following services and documents:
- Asset, Debt, and Tax Planning
- Guardianships
- Advance Health Care Directive
- Wills: drafting and revision, selection of an executor
- Trust drafting (revocable/living trusts, special needs trusts, etc.)
- Life Insurance and Life Insurance Trusts (ILIT)
- Charitable Trusts
- Trust Administration
- Durable Powers of Attorney (designate someone to sign for you and take legal steps for you, should you become incapable of doing so.
An estate plan assures you that your family’s well-being and financial needs are protected. At Sperling & Associates, we help you form a strategy for transferring your assets, and if necessary establishing guardianship for your children and pets. Recent tax legislation means that most people’s estates will not be subject to estate or inheritance taxes.
Trusts & Wills
A trust, which is usually modifiable and revocable, describes your property, designates your beneficiaries, and appoints a trustee to manage the trust assets. It permits your estate to be administered without probate, which is a series of court hearings.
A will alone does not avoid probate, but it permits you to declare how you intend your assets to be distributed at death, and it is useful to describe preferred custody arrangements for minor children and pets, and provisions for specific gifts. Property should be titled in the name of your trust.
Advance Health Care Directives
An Advance Health Care Directive permits you to instruct your family and physician as to your wishes, should a time come when you are permanently or temporarily unable to express your wishes regarding health care treatment. You may, if you wish, nominate an agent to speak for you when healthcare decisions are made for you. In times of urgency, a Health Care Directive relieves stress by setting forth your wishes for emergency medical treatment, life-sustaining care, and end-of-life measures.