Wills, Trusts, & Estates

Estate planning is an important step in protecting your family’s future

An estate plan is the best way to protect yourself and your assets while you are living and your loved ones after you pass. TURNER & WIGGINS will guide you through the creation of a comprehensive estate plan, which includes making key decisions and preparing legal documents that will protect you, your assets, and your family should you pass away or experience a period of disability.

Last Will and Testament

When preparing your will, we talk with you, at length, to ensure that your intended heirs get exactly what you wish to leave them, and avoid any delay in distribution. Estate planning ensures that as many assets as possible pass directly, and immediately, to the intended heirs. Potential complications can often be predicted and avoided.

A Will and/or Revocable Living Trust allows you to:

  • Determine the allocation of your assets

  • Designate the appropriate person or persons to handle your affairs

  • Ease the burden and stress on family members by clearly establishing your final wishes

  • Provide for loved ones

Trusts may be able to:

  • Reduce estate taxes

  • Protect the assets from creditors of the beneficiaries

  • Ensure proper investment and management of assets

  • Reduce income taxes under certain circumstances

General Durable Power of Attorney

As part of the Estate Planning process we will discuss with you the benefits of appointing an agent to help you if needed. If needed, the agent you select will be responsible for making decisions on your behalf. In the event you cannot manage your affairs, they will be tasked with managing your financial and real property issues such as bill paying, investments, buying or selling your home, and purchasing or cashing in life insurance policies.

Advanced Medical Directive

As part of your estate plan we encourage you to execute an Advance Medical Directive which:

  • Appoints an Agent and a Successor, to carry out the health care decisions stated in the Directive, and make medical decisions on your behalf, in the event that you cannot do so for yourself

  • May include Health Care Instructions, which serve as a guideline of how your care is delivered in the event you are unaware of your surroundings and/or death is imminent

  • Sets forth Organ Donation Preferences

We will develop a plan to help avoid potential issues through estate planning, especially in the case of business owners. Through consultation we might find that the creation of a trust would be beneficial.

TURNER & WIGGINS can help you decide what would be the best plan for you, set it up and administer it. We can also represent the trustees appointed by you or serve as trustees ourselves. Additionally, we can help you set up a trust or LLC to protect your assets and secure your family’s future.

 

Frequent Questions

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How Often Should My Estate Plan be Reviewed?

Estate planning should be considered a lifelong process.

TURNER & WIGGINS offer the following recommendations:

Your estate plan should be reviewed if you acquire significant wealth that may put you in a new income tax bracket or when there are changes in the economy or the tax code that may impact your current plan.

Additionally, you should review your estate plan soon after any major life event, such as marriage, divorce, birth of a child, death of a person named in your Will, or a move to a different state.

Other reasons to consider an Estate Plan review:

• Buying real estate in a state in which you do not live
• A decision to change the Executor, Trustee or Guardian
• Retirement
• Inheritance
• A beneficiary whom you have named in your estate plan has become disabled, incapacitated or has died
• Divorce of a child or grandchild
• Birth of a grandchild for whom you want to provide future tuition assistance

We recommend that you make it a point to review your estate plan periodically to ensure that it will work as desired when it is needed. TURNER & WIGGINS is here to help.