Protect Your Family and Your Wealth

When you have an estate plan you protect your family and your wealth. Do you have an estate plan yet? If not, how do you plan to ensure your assets end up in the right hands?

Protect Your Family and Your Wealth. An image of a senior citizen writing a will on a red background.
Protect your family and your wealth.
What is an Estate Plan?

An estate plan outlines how to manage and distribute a person’s assets and property after their death or incapacity. This set of legal documents and strategies can include a will, trust, power of attorney, and other documents.

Together, these materials provide guidance on how to carry out a person’s wishes while protecting their family and loved ones. They do this by distributing the person’s assets according to their wishes, rather than by state law.

How Do Estate Plans Protect Your Family?

Estate plans protect an individual’s family and loved ones in a variety of ways, some less obvious than others.

Most obviously, a will allows a person to specify who will inherit their property and assets, and in what proportion. Trusts can protect assets for the benefit of family members, like children or grandchildren, and to provide for their financial needs.

But they can help provide for an individual’s family and loved ones prior to their death. Say a person becomes incapacitated, estate plans can provide for their care through powers of attorney and health care directives. They appoint someone to make financial and medical decisions on someone’s behalf if they are unable to do so themselves.

This helps to prevent disputes and ensure a person’s wishes are respected. It also protects their wealth from misuse by making it harder for anyone squander it.

Additionally, estate plans can help to minimize taxes and legal expenses, which reduces the burden on a person’s family. Further, in certain circumstances they help the estate avoid the time-consuming and expensive processes in probate court.

How Do Estate Plans Protect Your Wealth?
Image of estate planning law books in dark red and gold trim.

Again, estate plans can also protect a person’s wealth by minimizing taxes and legal expenses. Trusts, for example, minimize estate taxes and avoid the probate process.

In the event an individual becomes incapacitated, estate plans can provide for the continuity of their business or professional practice. Business succession planning can help to ensure that the business continues to operate smoothly, which also protects that person’s wealth.

Worried that you haven’t protected your family and wealth with a proper estate plan? Relax! Our estate planning professionals can help you create a plan that respects your wishes and protects your loved ones and assets. We work with people from all walks of life and income levels. Whether you’re of modest means or have extensive asset holds, you can protect your interests. We’ll help you put in place the documents and legal instruments that can help you achieve your goals.

To learn how, call us 724-216-5180 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.

Making Charitable Donations Part of Your Estate Plan

As you create an estate plan ( yes, you need one ), consider how your assets will be divided upon your death. Most people don’t consider charitable donations as a way to minimize estate/inheritance taxes. However, did you know that making charitable donations part of your estate plan could lessen the tax burden for your heirs? Read on to learn more.

Making charitable donations part of your estate plan. Estate planning law books on a white background.
Why Designate Charitable Donations in Estate Plans?

For example, some people decide they don’t want to leave all their assets to their children or other beneficiaries. Likewise, others don’t have beneficiaries to leave their assets to but want to ensure their estate contributes to a lasting legacy.

For anyone passionate about a specific cause, making charitable donations part of your estate plan may be the right choice for you. Leaving funds or other assets to a designated charity could make the most impact. Tax-exempt charities are set up to maximize the effectiveness of gifts they receive, planned or otherwise.

Any funds given to a recognized public charity are not taxable. While this may decrease the overall amount any named beneficiaries receive, most people appreciate the sentiment during their grieving period. Making charitable donations part of your estate plan may be a good choice.

What Charities Count?

Any charity recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) can receive tax-exempt donations as part of an estate plan. These include charitable organizations, churches and religious organizations, private foundations, and other non-profits.

In addition, depending on the size of your gift, you should contact the charity to inform them of your plans. They may need time to prepare for a large gift (over $10,000). They can also provide basic information to list in the estate plan to streamline the process. If you do name other beneficiaries in your estate plan, you should probably let them know your plans, too. This can minimize hurt feelings and contested wills upon your death.

Making charitable donations part of your estate plan. Typewriter image with estate tax, PA Inheritance tax, and estate planning written out.
How to Get Started.

There are a number of ways to plan gift to charities, foundations, or others as part of your estate plan. Estate/inheritance tax rules seem to change every year. So, your estate attorney can work with your designated charities to determine which options make the most sense for everyone. By making your wishes clear in your estate plan, you leave little room for misinterpretation. You can minimize additional work for your heirs and maximize their tax benefits while supporting organizations important to you.

In conclusion, are you not sure how to name a charity in your estate plan? RELAX! Our estate planning experts can walk you through options. Each will fit your unique circumstances. We help with will preparation, trust creation and administration, probate administration, and more. Call us today at 724-216-5180 or complete the online form to schedule a free consultation.

What Makes a Great Estate Attorney?

When a person dies, what happens to their stuff? If they have an estate plan, they will have everything outlined. Preparation is key. Estate attorneys can help someone put together a will, set up trusts, and schedule charitable donations on the deceased behalf. A great estate attorney will also make arrangements for other common issues after a person passes. So, what makes a great estate attorney?

What makes a great estate attorney? An image of an estate planning questionnaire and business card.
Desk-Side Manners

Medical patients will often seek out doctors with great bedside manners. Clients should expect the same thing, courtesy, and explanations from their estate attorney. Desk-side manners if you will. An estate attorney that cares will take the time to fully understand your family’s needs and your personal wishes. They will help you sort out your options. In addition, they will also help you fully understand each option before making those decisions.

Efficient and Thorough Preparations

Nobody likes thinking about their demise. Occasionally time just simply isn’t on the client’s side. Meanwhile, a good estate attorney will do a thorough job preparing estate documentation to minimize anxiety. Experienced and caring estate attorneys will do the same thorough preparations, but also turn things around quickly. You should never have to chase down an estate attorney for the status of paperwork if time is of the essence. Once you have discussed everything you want prepared, they should give you a timeline and meet it without issue.

Does All the Things

Sometimes estate attorneys will specialize in a few specific areas like probate or will creation. Exceptional estate attorneys can be your one-stop shop for a variety of legal issues. You can trust them to execute on everything related to estate planning and provide better results over engaging multiple attorneys. If they’ve been doing it long enough, an estate attorney should have the experience setting up and administrating trusts, finding ways to avoid probate, or minimizing tax implications.

Great estate attorneys can help their clients navigate a very complex legal system. They provide their clients peace of mind during planning and also during execution.

Do you have a great estate attorney? If you need assistance planning, updating, or executing on an existing plan, relax! Call our office at 724-216-5180 or complete the online form to schedule a free consultation.

What makes a great estate attorney? An image of John A. Cochran, Esq sitting at a desk with a red and white background and bio information.

August is National Make a Will Month

If you’re like me, you’re wondering why we need to say August is National Make a Will Month. Why do we need to be reminded of the importance of having a will? Also, wills aren’t just for “rich” people. As responsible grownups shouldn’t we have already done this? We understand that talking about death – namely YOURS – can feel uncomfortable. But it’s worth a bit of discomfort today to save your loved ones the double heartache after your passing.

Image of a Last Will & Testament document and a hand with a stamp.
A thorough legal will and estate plan matters to those you care about.
Making a Will

Did you know only an estimated 46 percent American adults have a will? That means more than half the adults in this country are letting the government decide how to divide up their assets after their death. A court will not know (or care) about your wishes. If you didn’t write them down in a will, they don’t matter. And if they should leave behind minor dependents, they are also leaving their future care decisions up to strangers. I can think of nothing more heartbreaking than a child losing their parent then being shipped someplace they’re not comfortable. Making a will also means your heirs pay estate taxes quicker and may receive the inheritances faster. So, yes, regardless of whether you consider yourself wealthy or not, you do need a will.

Updating a Will

Even if you already have a will, this National Make a Will Month can remind you to review it. It triggers a reminder to be responsible. Kind of like the time change triggers folks to check their smoke detectors batteries (another responsible adult thing to have). Situations change, sometimes frequently. Periodically reexamining the language in your will can remind you to update beneficiaries or remove assets you no longer have. If your kids have grown, maybe they should take more responsibility over your assets than another less-reliable family member. You really don’t have to review your will annually – unless you live a particularly chaotic life. But recognizing National Make a Will Month can be the prompt you need when necessary.

Ready to Make a Will?

Hopefully this prompted you to think more about what happens to your possessions and your loved ones after your death. If the thought of dying and leaving your loved ones stranded stresses you out, relax! Yes, August is National Make a Will Month. However, we can help you make or update a will any time of the year, not just during the month of August. Call our office at 724-216-5180 or complete the online form to schedule a free consultation.