Waterbury Estate Planning Lawyer

It can be daunting to start considering your own mortality. Yet, it’s wise to consider the future of your family and how your assets could be allocated after your death. If you have a substantial estate or complicated family dynamics, it’s important to consult a Waterbury estate planning lawyer who can help discuss your comprehensive estate plan.

Why Estate Planning is Important

Estate planning is the process of creating a complete plan for the future of your family that typically takes effect once you’ve passed Estate planning can include:

• Will and trust creation.
• Probate litigation.
• Contests of wills.
• Removing fiduciaries.
• Reformation matters.

An attorney familiar with estate planning laws can assist with your specific family dynamics in order to tailor an estate plan that’s designed to safeguard your assets. With an attorney by your side, they can help make the entire process easier and provide legal advice specific to your circumstances.

Typically, an estate plan includes the following legal documents:

• A will
• Living trust
• A power of attorney
• Insurance support
• Medical documents and medical directives
• Funeral plans

Through your estate plan, you can provide information that can be used by your loved ones to provide guidance about your wishes during a difficult time. In order to safeguard your assets, an estate plan is important. Each estate plan is unique, and it’s vital to feel confident in the decisions you make about your legacy.

Wills v. Trusts

The main difference between a will and a trust is that they serve different purposes when creating an estate plan. A will is a legal document to address someone’s specific wishes to distribute their assets after they pass. A trust helps manage someone’s assets during their lifetime and after their death. A trust allows for substantial control over the distribution of their assets, and it can also provide specific benefits such as reducing estate taxes and protecting someone’s assets.

Both wills and trusts can both be part of a comprehensive estate plan. Estate planning remains important to protect your legacy and to make sure your post-death wishes are honored. Also, with a proper estate plan, you can help maintain your family’s privacy during the distribution of your estate, which some people find particularly important.

Whether the best option for you is a comprehensive will, the establishment of trusts or other estate planning solutions, we will find a solution that fits your needs.

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Who Should Create an Estate Plan

Estate planning is important for every Waterbury resident, regardless of their age or financial status. If you create an estate plan, you can:

• Determine who gets your assets upon your death (in order to prevent family arguments).
• Decide what happens if you become incapacitated and unable to make your own medical decisions.
• Protect your assets and help avoid going to court to distribute them.
• Name a guardian for your children and set up funding for their support, if needed.
• Decide what should happen to your pets upon your death.
• Decide where you’d like to spend your last few years and decide how to pay for extended elderly care.
• Address the unique help that might be necessary if you have a disabled loved one who might need substantial medical and financial help.
• Consider any other specific, important circumstances.

An estate plan can help address the important decisions that can guide your end-of-life care and direct the distribution of your assets upon your death. In order to create a valid and legally-enforceable estate plan, it’s important to consult an experienced Waterbury attorney.

An Experienced Waterbury Estate Planning Attorney Can Create a Comprehensive Plan

An experienced estate planning attorney can help you develop a complete estate plan to help:

• Project your assets and make sure your wishes are followed out after you have passed.
• Draft a distinct plan based on your individual background.
• Discuss who you would like to inherit your assets and whether any conditions of inheritance should be included.
• Make sure your estate plan complies with the complicated CT estate laws, which change often.
• Avoid some common mistakes.
• Consider any possible tax implications for your plan.
• Prepare any necessary legal documents to protect your estate, like a will or trust.

Without an estate plan prepared by an experienced Waterbury attorney, your family might have to go to a Connecticut (CT) probate court. The process of distributing assets, called probate, can sometimes take years, cost quite a bit, and often is unpleasant for the parties involved.

Questions To Ask a Waterbury Attorney During an Initial Consultation

During your first meeting, called an initial consultation, there are important questions you can ask an attorney you’re considering in order to determine your level of comfort that they’re the right attorney to prepare your family’s estate planning documents. You can consider asking the following questions to assess their legal competence and confidence:

• How much experience do you have preparing estate plans like mine?
• Have you encountered any problems with the validity of your prepared estate plans before?
• What’s your usual approach to preparing revisions or updates to an estate plan?
• What’s your fee agreement and can you explain all of the terms used?
• Are there any additional costs not discussed in your fee agreement you anticipate for my estate plan?
• What’s your usual time frame for drafting and finalizing estate plans?

By meeting with an attorney and asking valuable questions, you can make sure your estate plan is handled by a competent attorney who can protect your family’s future.

They should explain each anticipated cost in order to provide effective estate planning and should be able to discuss how some factors might influence their expected costs. The right Waterbury attorney for your estate plan is one who provides straightforward answers and welcomes your input for your own, unique estate plan.

Consult an Attorney Today to Avoid Making Avoidable Mistakes

Retaining an attorney for your estate plan can provide numerous advantages. One of the advantages of having an attorney by your side includes helping you avoid making some common, avoidable mistakes that people without legal assistance often make. These mistakes sometimes include:

• Using vague, ambiguous language.
• Improperly executing the estate plan.
• Failing to consider and include all estate assets.
• Not timely updating an estate plan to include important life changes like the birth of a child, a new marriage, a divorce, or a disinheritance.

Having an estate plan in place takes the guesswork out of what can often be a stressful time for a family. An experienced Waterbury attorney can help create a plan specific to your needs and can provide reliable legal advice throughout the entire process.

Frequently Asked Questions

Consult an Experienced Waterbury Estate Planning Lawyer Today

An experienced estate planning lawyer can help prepare a comprehensive plan and answer any important questions you might have.

At Burns Thomas, LLC, we can help develop a reliable estate plan and prepare the framework to protect your legacy. We want your estate plan to provide you with the necessary peace of mind, and we can create unique solutions to meet your needs. Contact Burns Thomas, LLC to schedule an initial consultation right away.