Almost every one of our clients
has required estate planning services. Some have
outdated documents. Some have none at all. Many
have not taken advantage of substantial estate tax
savings opportunities.
Many people think of estate
planning as encompassing only the issue of leaving
property to their heirs. But there is a living aspect
of estate planning. What happens if you are incapacitated?
Who will help you? Just because you have a spouse
or parents, it doesn't mean they can automatically
step into your shoes. They must have "authority."
Living wills, durable powers of attorney and advance
medical directives are a very important part of
estate planning.
We offer access to comprehensive
estate planning services. We assist clients in planning
the disposition of their estates. We address tax
planning, trusts for children, charitable giving,
selection of executors and trustees, and asset titling.
We also address living needs such as planning for
incapacity using trusts and powers of attorney.
We arrange for the preparation of estate documents.
Preparation and Homework
We give you reading lists to
acquaint you with basic estate planning concepts.
We also give you worksheets to help you devise your
plan.
Meeting No. 1-Planning
We present an estate "tutorial"
to educate you and review the most important estate
planning and tax savings concepts.
Together we go through the
planning process. We make all recommendations as
to the structure of your plan.
We refer you to an attorney
and send your plan details to him. The attorney
prepares drafts and mails them for your review at
leisure.
Meeting No. 2-Draft Review
We gather in our offices with
you and your attorney (he comes to our offices for
this meeting) and discuss the drafts. Corrections
and final decisions are made.
Meeting No. 3-Execution and
Trust Funding
The attorney sends "finals"
to our office. We help you execute them. We distribute
copies to all concerned.
If you have a revocable trust
(almost all of our clients do), we make recommendations
as to how you should fund it.
The estate planning services
described above are included at no extra charge
as part of our investment advisory fee. Since we
do the preliminary work, we have negotiated special
discount rates for document preparation with several
attorneys who are estate specialists. Please note
that the attorney's fees are not included.
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