Estate Planning Attorney Lewistown, PA
Making proper preparations for your estate provides much-needed peace of mind as you consider what will happen to your assets after you pass away. When creating an estate plan in Lewistown, turn to an experienced estate planning lawyer from Kreisher Marshall & Associates, LLC, for dedicated guidance and support. Contact our firm for an initial case evaluation to discuss your financial and personal needs or objectives and understand your estate planning options.
Why Choose an Estate Planning Lawyer from Kreisher Marshall & Associates, LLC?
Developing an estate plan may become one of the most important tasks you undertake, making your choice of legal counsel a critical decision. Let the legal team at Kreisher Marshall & Associates, LLC, help you develop a tailored estate plan that serves your financial and personal needs because:
- Our legal team takes the time to discuss your needs, concerns, and goals with you to identify the appropriate legal tools and strategies for your estate plan.
- Our firm has built a reputation over 50 years for providing top-quality support and service to individuals and families in Lewistown and the surrounding region.
- Our attorneys leverage their collective knowledge and experience through a team-based approach to provide clients with innovative solutions to their specific estate planning needs and goals.
Understanding Estate Planning Strategies
A comprehensive estate plan will incorporate various legal tools or structures to carry out an individual’s financial and personal objectives. An estate planning lawyer can explain your planning options and help you identify suitable strategies. Some of the standard components of an estate plan include:
Wills
A will forms the basis of an individual’s estate plan. In a will, a person can appoint an individual to serve as the executor of their estate, which ensures that they can decide who will manage their estate after death. People also use wills to direct the distribution of their assets to specific beneficiaries. A person may make specific bequests, giving certain assets or sums of money to individual beneficiaries, or they may split their estate among one or more beneficiaries. Wills enable the assets in your estate to go to the people or causes you want, rather than being distributed per state law.
Trusts
A trust is a legal structure under which a party called a trustee manages assets placed into the trust by its settlor, the person who created the trust, on behalf of one or more beneficiaries designated by the settlor. Various types of trusts, such as living, charitable, special needs, Medicaid, and spendthrift trusts, can achieve various estate planning goals, such as:
- Distributing assets to heirs without the need for time-consuming, expensive probate
- Protecting assets and inheritances from creditors or financial mismanagement
- Facilitating third-party management of assets and wealth
- Establishing retirement or family wealth funds
- Conducting charitable giving
- Qualifying for means-tested government benefits
- Providing resources to loved ones with special needs
Powers of Attorney
A power of attorney allows an individual, known as a principal, to authorize a party, known as an agent or attorney-in-fact, to act on the principal’s behalf. In an estate plan, a person may use powers of attorney to enable trusted loved ones or advisors to handle the person’s financial, legal, personal, or medical affairs, typically when the person becomes incapacitated and unable to do so themselves. A person may also create a durable power of attorney to ensure the agent’s authority remains intact even after the principal becomes incapacitated. Powers of attorney prevent the need for families to seek guardianship or conservatorship when a loved one becomes incapacitated.
Advance Directives
Advance directives allow individuals to document their wishes or preferences regarding medical treatment or end-of-life care and empower trusted loved ones to make treatment decisions if they cannot. An advance directive may include various documents, such as:
- Healthcare Power of Attorney – A healthcare POA allows an individual to appoint a healthcare proxy to make medical and end-of-life care decisions for them if they become incapacitated and unable to make or communicate decisions.
- Living Will – In a living will, a person can provide specific instructions for medical treatment decisions or discuss general preferences and wishes regarding medical and end-of-life care.
- Advance Directive Forms – Individuals can execute various forms to provide specific directives to healthcare providers, such as not providing life-saving medical treatment or withdrawing life-sustaining care under specific circumstances.
Beneficiary Designations
An individual who owns financial accounts or life insurance policies may make beneficiary or pay/transfer-on-death designations to instruct the financial institution or insurance company to transfer control of the account or pay assets or proceeds from an account or policy to one or more designated individuals. Designations allow financial assets to pass directly to beneficiaries without going through probate.
Do You Need an Estate Plan?
You might wonder if you need to create an estate plan if you have few assets. However, an estate plan can accomplish more than asset protection or distributing wealth. For example, you can use an estate plan to ensure that your assets go to the loved ones or beneficiaries you wish to inherit from you. You can also use an estate plan for long-term care planning purposes, empowering loved ones to act on your behalf if you become incapacitated and providing the resources you need for long-term care.
Updating Your Estate Planning
After you’ve created an estate plan in Lewistown, the planning process should not end there. You should consider your estate plan a living document that can change throughout your life as your circumstances, needs, and wishes evolve. The legal team at Kreisher Marshall & Associates, LLC, can build a long-lasting relationship with you to help you review your estate plan periodically or after significant life events, such as:
- Marriage
- Divorce
- The birth of children and grandchildren
- Experiencing substantial increases in income due to career changes
- Acquiring significant assets, such as real estate or inheritances
- Disposing of assets addressed explicitly by your estate plan, like real estate, jewelry, or artwork
- The death of executors, trustees, or beneficiaries named in your estate plan
Our firm can also help you update your estate plan in response to changes in estate or tax laws, ensuring your plan remains legally compliant and allowing you to take advantage of new legal benefits.
How Can an Estate Planning Attorney Help You?
Although the estate planning process can seem daunting or confusing, an estate planning attorney from Kreisher Marshall & Associates, LLC, can help you create an estate plan focused on your needs and objectives by:
- Sitting down with you to discuss your needs, concerns, goals, and preferences
- Identifying appropriate legal strategies to incorporate into your estate plan
- Walking you through your legal options to help you make informed decisions about how to structure your estate plan
- Drafting estate planning documents to carry out your objectives
- Completing other steps necessary to put your estate plan into effect
- Working with you throughout the years to review and update your estate plan as needed to ensure it continues to reflect your wishes and goals
Contact Our Firm Today for Experienced Advice and Support
If you decide you need an estate plan in Lewistown, get the legal advice and assistance you need to create an effective, tailored legal strategy. Contact Kreisher Marshall & Associates, LLC, today for a confidential consultation with a knowledgeable estate planning lawyer to learn more about your options for preparing for your future.
