WILLS AND TRUSTS ESTATE PLANNING ATTORNEY

As we age, our needs change at the McNamara & McNamara , a Law office we help young families planning for their futures, and seniors and their loved ones prepare for the years to come. Estate planning is all about preparing for the future-about taking control of the future, not just letting it happen. To find out how we can help you, call the McNamara & McNamara Law Firm for a consultation.

ESTATE PLANNING

When we craft estate plans, we protect loved ones from unnecessary expense and complexity that estate administration can sometimes involve. We may also reduce their tax liability.

There are a number of tools our lawyers use to help people plan their estates, including

• Simple wills
• Trusts, including revocable, irrevocable, and charitable trusts
• Durable Powers of Attorney
• Advance Healthcare Directives (living wills)

We here at McNamara & McNamara do not simply draft the documents. We sit down with you and your family and have a discussion to clarify your intentions. We also make ourselves available to you and your loved ones for questions and concerns that develop at any time during the process or in the future. Make an appointment now.

ESTATE PLANNING: PREPARING A WILL OR A LIVING TRUST, ALONG WITH OTHER RELATED DOCUMENTS:

Wills and Trusts are documents or vehicles used to deal with passing on property, assets and money from one generation to another. There is an unfortunate, widespread misconception that this is a subject of interest only for the wealthy. In fact, an estate plan provides the legal mechanism for disposing of property upon death in a way that recognizes your wishes and the needs of your survivors, while minimizing taxes. For many it involves, even more importantly, planning for the handling of affairs in case of disability, and the deeply personal medical choices to be made as life nears its end. For assistance with issues concerning wills and trusts, please contact McNamara & McNamara by calling us now, or filling out the Contact Page (Note a link to the contact page) and submitting it to us.

GENERALLY 1 OF 3 SCENARIO’S EXIST FOR MOST ESTATES:

The First would be no planning has been done, no will exists, and thus the person or estate is intestate. This has a consequence depending on the size of the estate several scenarios can take place. A Summary Probate is the estate is under a certain value and if not the matter must go to court.

Second, would be the estate has a will, meaning the person or couple have a Will in existence and the matter will likewise have to go to court and through a probate process.

Third, and what we recommend is setting up a living trust for the estate. This if all is in order can avoid court proceedings. Following is general information about the process, the csts and the pro’s and con’s with the different estate plans.

YOUR CONSIDERING A LIVING TRUST? WHY?

A revocable living trust can save estate taxes on half of a couple's estate up to the tax-free amount ($675,000 of taxable estate for 2001, $1,000,000 in 2002, 2003, 2011 and later), and it can avoid substantially all of the probate fees associated with intestacy or wills. Please be aware that Congress has currently plans to revisit the whole area of estate and death taxes therefore, these amount may change, and should not be relied upon without further legal consultation.

As should be expected, the fees for preparing estate tax and income tax returns are about the same. There will also be some charges for settling the trust at each death, but it should be only a fraction of probate fees as explained herein.

A Living Trust can be set up with terms that automatically provide for saving both spouses' tax-free amount, to avoid any tax at the first death by use of the marital deductions, and to minimize the Generation Skipping Tax. Single people have only one tax-free amount, but they can avoid probate fees by use of a revocable living trust.

The new tax law also requires special planning for changes in tax-free amount every few years, repeal in 2010, and back to the old law in 2011, as well as probable changes before 2010. Again, the changes are constant and ongoing. Living trusts have the flexibility for these changes.

A trust is a separate creation, which allows it to function beyond the trustees death to serve the purpose contained therein. However, for it to work, the original trustees’ have to transfer all appropriate assets into the living trust. Any assets not transferred will be subject to probate and probate fees. In most cases, husband and wife, as trustees, manage their affairs almost exactly as if there ware no trust, and the trust is completely changeable and revocable while both of them live. When one of them dies, part of the trust (containing all or part of the decedent's property) usually becomes irrevocable. If so, the survivor can still revoke his or her half.

We at McNamara & McNamara can assist you in this process of choosing and designing the best documents to properly address your estate. Call us now, or contact us for your appointment.