Planning for the future isn’t always easy, but taking the time to create or update your estate plan is one of the most meaningful ways you can protect yourself and your loved ones. A thoughtful, comprehensive estate plan offers clarity and peace of mind, whether you want to ensure your family knows how to manage your affairs, safeguard the assets you’ve worked hard to acquire, or clearly outline how your wealth should be distributed after you’re gone. An East Lansing trusts attorney with Leydorf Law Firm, PLLC can help you do all this with both care and confidence. Contact us for an initial case evaluation, and learn how we can help you put the right protections in place for the people who matter most. We serve the entire East Lansing area, including Williamson, DeWitt, and Grand Ledge.
Sudden emergencies can strike at any time—emergencies that might require your loved ones to handle your medical, legal, or financial affairs. Without an estate plan, it can become much more difficult for them to care for you during your incapacity or protect and pass on your assets. You can avoid this painful situation by creating an estate plan now to document your wishes and preferences for later. Moreover, the estate planning process can provide you with peace of mind of knowing that you’ve protected your and your family’s assets and interests and have planned for future contingencies.
Your estate plan may include various tools to help you achieve your legal and financial objectives. Some of the typical components of a comprehensive estate plan include the following.
A will usually serves as the cornerstone of an estate plan. Through a will, you can appoint an executor to administer your estate after your death, identify beneficiaries who will inherit from you, and determine what assets they will inherit from your estate. Even if you use other strategies for passing your assets after your death, you should still have a will to direct the distribution of any assets remaining in your estate at the time of your death.
A trust is a legal structure under which a party, known as a trustee, holds and manages assets placed in the trust by its creator, referred to as a settlor. The trustee manages and distributes trust assets on behalf of one or more beneficiaries designated by the settlor in the trust document, which may also include provisions that govern the trustee’s authority to manage the trust. Trusts can play various roles in an estate plan, including asset protection, asset management, tax mitigation, and probate avoidance.
These trusts are created during the settlor’s life and appoint a trustee to manage assets or to direct the distribution of assets to beneficiaries outside of the probate process. The revocable nature of the trust allows the settlor to amend or dissolve the trust at any time during their life. Once the settlor passes away, a revocable living trust becomes an irrevocable trust unless the trust document requires the dissolution of the trust upon the settlor's death.
As their name implies, irrevocable trusts cannot be amended or terminated by the settlor except in specific circumstances. The upside is that this inviolability provides asset protection and tax management advantages.
A settlor may create a testamentary trust in their will, which can direct the distribution of assets from their estate into a trust for the benefit of family members or other beneficiaries.
Individuals or couples who anticipate the need for long-term care in advanced age may create a Medicaid trust to help them fall beneath the strict asset thresholds for Medicaid benefit eligibility.
This type of trust can help a family member with special needs maintain their eligibility for means-tested government benefits, protect assets such as injury settlements or inheritances, and provide financial resources to enhance their quality of life beyond the support provided by government benefits.
Individuals and families can establish charitable trusts to create a lasting philanthropic legacy while also receiving tax benefits or establishing a lifetime income stream from their wealth.
A power of attorney allows an individual, known as a principal, to empower a trusted family member, friend, or advisor to serve as the principal’s agent. This agent can make decisions or take actions on behalf of the principal for their legal, financial, or medical affairs. Although powers of attorney typically go into effect once signed by the principal, a “springing” power of attorney becomes effective upon the occurrence of a specific event, such as the onset of cognitive or physical incapacity. A durable power of attorney can ensure that an agent’s authority remains in effect even if the principal becomes incapacitated.
An advance healthcare directive can include various documents appointing someone to serve as your healthcare agent and to provide instructions regarding your preferences for medical treatment and end-of-life care. Incorporating an advance healthcare directive into your estate plan will help your loved ones manage your health affairs should you become incapacitated and understand your wishes and preferences concerning your care.
Life insurance policies and financial accounts may allow you to make beneficiary designations—sometimes called transfer-on-death or pay-on-death designations—which can transfer ownership of accounts or pay assets to a designated beneficiary outside of the probate process.
The estate planning lawyer with Leydorf Law Firm, PLLC can help you craft a comprehensive legal plan that meets your needs and objectives by:
Estate planning is not a one-time event. Instead, your estate plan should adapt and evolve throughout your life to respond to your changing circumstances and priorities. An estate planning attorney can help you review and amend your estate planning documents every few years or after significant life events, such as marriage, divorce, the birth of children or grandchildren, or purchases and sales of substantial assets.
With all the estate planning law firms in East Lansing, why choose Leydorf Law Firm, PLLC? Here’s what we offer:
Creating an estate plan will involve complex legal issues, and you deserve to have experienced counsel critical to helping you choose suitable options and avoiding oversights or mistakes. Contact Leydorf Law Firm, PLLC today for a confidential consultation to discuss your needs with an estate planning attorney in East Lansing. We look forward to becoming the estate planning firm you can trust.
Nick Leydorf is ready to help you with estate planning and elder law. Let Leydorf Law Firm, PLLC put our experience and diligent legal representation to work for you. Contact us today to learn how Leydorf Law Firm, PLLC can help you.
It’s never too early to get your plans in order. If you’re ready to plan for your future and protect your loved ones, reach out to Nick today to arrange your initial consultation with an estate planning attorney in East Lansing.
