Experienced Estate Planning Lawyers Offering Detail-Oriented Counsel
While many people avoid thinking about what will happen after they die, a carefully crafted estate plan gives them the opportunity to ensure their assets are passed on to those they wish to have them.
At Prim Law Firm, PLLC in Hurricane, West Virginia, we tailor estate plans to fit our clients’ unique needs.
Whether you seek help drafting a will, establishing a trust or specifying your wishes for medical care in the event that you cannot articulate them, we provide the seasoned advice and advocacy that advances your goals and helps you protect your assets and your family.
Helping With a Range of Estate Planning Instruments
Estate planning can be thought of as a toolkit, offering an assortment of legal instruments that clients can select from based on their individual needs and objectives. Thus, there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to planning an estate.
As experienced estate planning attorneys, we will take the time to understand your situation and goals before advising you on the available options, which include:
- Wills — A last will and testament outlines your wishes for your assets upon your death, giving you control over what passes to whom. With a will, you can name an executor to administer your estate, and you can arrange for a guardian to care for your minor children in the event both parents predecease them.
- Advance directives — A living will specifies your wishes for medical treatment, end-of-life care, and pain relief during a terminal illness should you become unable to state them. You may also appoint someone to make medical decisions for you should you be unable to make them yourself. A power of attorney document gives a person you trust the authority to handle your financial or other affairs if you are unable to do so.
- Trusts — A living trust allows you to place your assets into a trust to be used during your lifetime and then transferred upon your death to named beneficiaries. A living trust does not have to go through probate, so your beneficiaries will have access to your assets soon after you pass. Other trusts that creators may choose to accomplish specific goals are tax-planning trusts, special needs trusts, spendthrift trusts, and pet trusts.
With these options, the possibilities are nearly limitless for those seeking to provide for family members and charitable organizations after their death, direct their own care and ensure their wishes are known and honored.
Skilled Advisers For Long-term Care Planning
Estate planning attorneys can also help clients make arrangements for long-term care in the event they suffer a serious illness that leaves them incapable of caring for themselves.
For many people, the question of what will happen to them if they require such care doesn’t occur to them until it is too late and they have been severely injured in an accident or diagnosed with a degenerative condition such as dementia. The cost of caring for someone who needs around-the-clock care can be astronomical, whether the care is at home or in a nursing facility.
The best approach is to deal with long-term care planning before you need it. Besides long-term care insurance, which will cover some of the cost, one must be mindful of preserving assets and establishing eligibility for federal and state assistance.
Legally, there are options for Medicaid planning, such as assigning assets to certain types of trusts or transferring them to a relative in advance of one’s need for benefits.
Our firm can advise clients or their family members on the steps they can take to ensure they have the financial means for extended care when they need it.
Contact an Experienced Estate Planning Attorney
At Prim Law Firm, PLLC, we devise creative solutions and plans to address our clients’ estate planning needs through wills, trusts, and other instruments.
To schedule a consultation at our Hurricane, West Virginia office with our estate planning attorney, call 304-201-2425 or contact us online.
