Natick Estate Planning Attorney

Build a Plan for Your Family’s Future

More likely than not, you want to feel assured that the assets and property in your estate will transfer to your loved ones upon your passing. If you’ve yet to take action to achieve this goal, there’s never a better time than right now to build a comprehensive estate plan. An experienced attorney can help you create this plan and provide the support you need to make other important decisions such as your long-term care, end-of-life medical care, guardianship of your minor children, and more.

At Marsden Law P.C., our estate planning attorney in Natick has the experience and skill to provide the legal advice and services you need. Rest assured that it’s possible to secure a plan that can work for you and your loved ones when difficult times come to pass. Let us help you explore the various options that may be available to you in trusts, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives so you can be prepared.

Contact Marsden Law P.C. online or call (800) 828-7854 today to schedule a consultation with our attorney and learn more about how we can help. 

What Goes into Planning Your Affairs?

People typically think of an estate plan in terms of a will or trust, but it’s far more than just one thing. An estate plan – and especially a comprehensively built estate plan – is a series of legal documents that provide various instructions for how you want yourself, your property, and loved ones in your care to be treated upon your incapacitation or death.

The documents in your estate plan may include the following:

• Wills
• Irrevocable or Complex Trusts
• Long Term Care Insurance
• Medicaid Plans
• Health Care Proxies
• Powers of Attorney
• Guardianship for Minor Children
• Gift & Charitable Contribution Plans

Certain parts of your estate plan will remain dormant until a specific event triggers them. This can be the case for a living will if you are in a coma or are so injured or sick that you are likely to die or become brain-dead. Obviously, your will won’t become relevant until you have already passed on.

Why Is an Estate Plan Important?

An estate plan can help people accomplish several goals to protect their loved ones, such as:

• Transferring Property to Your Loved Ones: A will or a trust can help you ensure that property such as your home and important heirlooms, in addition to assets in your bank accounts, can transfer to your loved ones according to your wishes.
• Avoiding Probate: Probate is a court-supervised process of validating a will and administering an estate. It can cost a lot in court fees and take a long time to complete, but holding as much as your estate as possible in a trust can spare your loved ones this ordeal.
• Reducing Estate Tax Liability: The value of your estate can be significantly reduced by state and federal estate taxes. An AB/ABC trust, however, can help you limit your estate’s tax liability and preserve as much value as possible for your loved ones’ benefit.
• Continued Care for Children and Adults with Special Needs: You may care for children who are younger than 18 or adults with special needs. You can assure these people will be protected when you’re no longer able to by assigning a guardian to care for them and establishing trusts to provide them with financial resources.

How Is a Will Different from a Trust?

People create wills and trusts to determine what happens to their property when they pass away, but these estate planning documents differ in several key ways.

A will, for one, only becomes effective after the will-maker has passed away. This contrasts with a trust, which goes into effect as soon as it is created. As a legal entity, the property you fund into your trust then belongs to your trust. This legally separates it from your personal property, but certain trusts allow you to benefit from your property during your lifetime. This is what makes it possible for estates held in trusts to bypass probate in most cases.

Wills and trusts both require you to select someone who will administer your estate. When you create a will, you assign an executor to perform these functions during probate. With a trust, however, you will assign a trustee during your lifetime who can manage the trust while you are still alive or assume this role upon your passing. The latter case is possible if you name yourself as your trust’s trustee and select a loved one as a successor trustee to take over when you die.

If you need help understanding whether a will, trust, or a combination of these documents can help you achieve your goals, reach out to our estate planning attorney in Natick for help.

Why Do People Want to Avoid Probate?

Not everyone may want to avoid probate, but those who do typically have a few common reasons. Probate is a process conducted in court where your will is validated and the administration is carried out under the supervision of a judge.

Probate can cost your loved ones a lot in court fees, attorney’s fees, and time – some estates can take as long as 18 months to settle. By avoiding probate with a trust, however, you can reduce these factors for your loved ones’ benefit.

Get Help from Marsden Law P.C.

When you choose to work with our legal team on your estate plan, you’re choosing a law firm that’s dedicated to helping you achieve your estate planning goals. We understand most people’s first concern is the wellbeing of their loved ones for a time when they are no longer around. Our estate planning attorney in Natick can provide you with the guidance necessary to help you make important decisions for yourself and your loved ones.

Reach out to us for help today by completing our online contact form and requesting a consultation.