Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning

At Davis Schleiffarth, LLC, we work closely with each of our clients to develop a life and estate plan that meets their goals and expectations, thoroughly prepares them and their family for the future, squarely addresses legal matters and provides peace of mind.  We take our roles as advisor and counselor very seriously and are committed to understanding each client’s needs and working hard to prepare a comprehensive and understandable estate plan.

Documents often included in a life and estate plan include:

Last Will and Testament

A Will designates the recipients of property upon an individual’s death, ranging from personal items, to a bank account, to the family residence. In addition to creating the scheme and details for posthumous gifts, a will often includes provisions that nominate guardianship for minor children, establish a “testamentary trust” to be formed
upon death, nominates a personal representative of the estate and grants gifts to specific charities or other organizations, if so desired.

Revocable Living Trust

A Revocable Living Trust is created during your life, and you typically transfer the bulk of your assets into the trust. This trust can be revoked at anytime by the grantor (i.e.
you, the creator) of the trust. You typically serve as both the “trustee” managing the assets, as well as the “beneficiary” for the benefit of whom the assets are being held/managed. Benefits of having a trust as part of your life and estate plan include (1) avoidance of probate, (2) detailed incapacity planning, (iii) the ability to implement a more detailed plan for asset distribution, (iv) the ability to control assets after your death, and (v) potential estate tax reduction or elimination.

General Durable Power of Attorney

A General Durable Power of Attorney is a key component of anyone’s life and estate plan. Life circumstances may place an individual in a physical or mental condition
where they are unable to make or execute key financial and personal decisions for themselves. A General Durable Power of Attorney addresses these concerns and circumstances by granting a named individual (called the “attorney-in-fact”) the authority to act in your behalf with respect to your personal and financial affairs. These documents are very flexible and can be adapted to meet the needs and wishes for your particular circumstances.

Power of Attorney for Health Care and Advance Health Care Directive

A Power of Attorney for Health Care grants a named individual (often a spouse or other family member or close friend) the authority to make certain health care-related decisions on your behalf. Typically, this document would grant authority to a spouse, close friend or family member to make decisions for you in the event you are not in a physical or mental state to be able to do so.

An Advance Health Care Directive specifies the type and level of health care (or life support) that you want to receive in certain circumstances, if you are unable to effectively communicate your wishes. Typically, an Advance Health Care Directive would indicate life saving/prolonging procedures that you do not want to have applied to you. It is generally advised that you have both a Power of Attorney for Health Care and an Advance Health Care Directive.

Other Types of Trusts

The unique circumstances of each client and their family dictates the estate plan that we recommend and prepare. Based on our discussions with our clients and their unique goals, we may prepare a variety of types of trusts including, Special Needs Trusts, Spendthrift Trusts, Asset Protection Trusts, Testamentary Trusts, ILIT Trusts and Martial Deduction Trusts.

Tax Planning

We take tax planning and reduction very seriously. While not all individuals face potential estate tax liability, many do, and we work closely with our clients to reduce and
even often eliminate estate tax liability.

Contact us to see how we can help..