Now is the time! Choose to start your estate planning attorney near me law firm consultation before it is too late. No matter what stage of life you’re in, whether you’re starting a family, a business, or a new medical treatment, it’s critical to speak with an estate planning attorney near you.
Estate planning is more than writing a will, it is determining agents, guardianship for minor children, and where you want your stuff to go. It is a comprehensive series of documents that takes care of your assets while you are alive as well as when you pass away. An estate planning attorney at Chesapeake Wills and Trusts serves the community of Anne Arundel County and other surrounding counties in Maryland. We help you protect your family, legacy, and assets while you are alive and when you pass away.
What is Estate Planning?
The primary purpose of estate planning is to create a plan that will be beneficial to you and your loved ones. . You are working incredibly hard to build the life you want, or maybe you are entering your retirement era and do not want your legacy to go to waste. Either way, estate planning is more than compiling a bunch of wishes into a will. A typical estate plan includes:
- Will or trust
- Certificate of trust
- Financial power of attorney
- Medical power of attorney
- HIPAA release form
- Memorial instructions
- Personal property memorandum
- Schedule to include all your accounts, properties, and other assets
- A place for you to write your account log in information
These legal documents are important because a good estate planning lawyer near you wants to make sure that your assets are protected while you are alive and well, and when you pass away.
Common Misconceptions About Estate Planning
The biggest misconception is that people believe that only “rich” people have estate plans. That is simply untrue. Anyone with an asset, even if it is just one bank account, can benefit from having a will or a trust. Because if you do not have documents directing where you want things to go, then you will die intestate and be subject to the court rules.
Intestate means you die having no valid will or trust. This means that administration of your assets defaults to the government rules. It also means that if someone contests the estate, then a judge will be the decision maker on where things will be administered. If you prefer to have a say on who receives your stuff or how things should be administered, then preparing an estate plan is for you.
In addition, people believe that because they are not rich, it will not take long for their family to go through the probate process. Depending on the amount of assets, a family can petition for a small estate. A small estate imposes less requirements for documents, but requires the same time frame for a creditor’s notice. However, if there is property involved or the estate is over $50,000, then the family will need to go through a regular probate estate. Probate can be expensive and take a long time. It is best to get an estate plan in place to avoid prolonging an already long process.
Why You Need an Estate Planning Attorney
You need an estate planning attorney near you to help educate and guide you through your choices. An estate plan helps to protect your loved ones, whether that be family, friends, or romantic partners. Navigating the estate planning process may seem easy at first, but a comprehensive plan takes organization, skill, and a trained eye.
Unfortunately, once someone dies, there is nothing but the written word left, if they wrote one. If the written word is considered valid in Maryland, then it can be used in probate. However, if there is no valid written document, then there is no direction and you have died intestate. An estate planning lawyer will educate you on what choices you have to protect your assets while you are alive and when they pass on to your chosen loved ones. We draft and execute documents that make sure your wishes are legally enforced.
Estate Planning Services in Anne Arundel County
Too often we get calls from adult children looking to start estate planning for their parents who are already incapacitated or are unable to make decisions for themselves. We also get clients who are dealing with creditors or Medicaid and are in need of asset protection, but it is too late to do anything. A way to avoid these scenarios is to start the planning process early.
Why Choose an Attorney in Anne Arundel County?
When choosing an estate planning attorney near you, Chesapeake Wills and Trusts are not only here to help you create your plan, but we also have a Chesapeake Care Program set up to help as your life continues. With this plan trust clients receive continuous support beyond the initial estate plan creation:
- Direct Access to Our Team: Reach us via phone, email, or appointments at no additional cost, with responses typically within 24 hours.
- Regular Plan Reviews: As life changes, we review your estate plan every two years to ensure it aligns with your current circumstances and goals.
- Immediate Updates: Whether you are acquiring more property, birth of a new family member, or some other change in circumstance, we are here to help update the documents at no extra cost.
- Asset Coordination: Regular reviews of your assets ensure they are correctly aligned with your estate plan for maximum security. This includes reviewing to see if you need different trusts to maintain the security of your assets.
- 24/7 Document Access: A DocuBank subscription allows hospitals and medical providers to access your estate planning documents in emergencies.
- Workshops & Webinars: Stay up to date with legal changes and estate planning strategies through free educational sessions.
- Collaboration with Professionals: We coordinate with your financial advisors, accountants, and insurance professionals to create a seamless estate plan.
- Power of Attorney Updates: Relationships change over time. If you need to change your agent, we can do so.
- Family Care Meetings: Your estate plan can be as open or as private as you would like with regard to your family. We will honor your wishes and talk with your family about your plan, if that is your choice.
- Settlement Fee Guarantee: We cap post-death administration fees at 1% of your gross taxable estate, potentially saving your heirs thousands of dollars.
We will not leave you hanging without a plan or options. We know creating this document takes courage and bravery to face a reality we all must face. Estate planning provides a unique opportunity to stay in relationships with our clients to make sure that they, their assets, and their loved ones, continue to be protected.
Wills and Trusts in Anne Arundel County
People often assume they know the difference between a will and a trust because they have seen it in the movies. They recall dramatic scenes where the will is read out loud or there is a video of the deceased person talking. Unfortunately Hollywood’s rendition is not the reality.
What is a Will?
Maryland requires certain factors for a will to be valid. It must be handwritten or typed, signed by the testator, signed by two credible witnesses who are over 18 years of age and notarized. A will indicates who yourPersonal Representative is and where you want your assets to go. The will does go through probate court.
Probate goes through Orphans’ Court in Maryland. Even though a will dictates the placement of the assets, the Personal Representative works with the probate court to provide information for the court to administer the assets. The beneficiaries of the assets cannot touch them until a court order is provided. This can take anywhere from nine months to several years, depending on the circumstances. Further, probate leaves the estate open to the public as well as family or friends to contest what the will may say. Despite a will giving the court direction, there are some drawbacks because it does take time and money for assets to be distributed.
Living Wills and Advance Healthcare Directives
In Maryland, a living will is a part of the advance directive, also known as the health directive or health care power of attorney. A health care directive is important for a few reasons:
- Ensures Your Medical Wishes Are Honored: You choose your agent who will receive legal authority to make health care decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated.
- Prevents Family Disputes: This document provides clarity to your family about what you want should you become incapacitated or in a vegetative state. It also clearly designates a decision-maker, reducing potential conflicts among family members regarding your medical care.
- Complies with Maryland Laws: Maryland law requires legal authorization for someone to make health care decisions for another person, there is no legal assumption based on relationship.
- Avoids Court Intervention: Without assigning an agent, your loved ones may have to go through a costly and time-consuming guardianship process to make medical decisions for you.
- Works in Conjunction with a Living Will: Allows you to specify your preferences regarding life-sustaining treatment and other medical care.
- Necessary for everyone: Without legal documentation, there is no assumption that your loved one, whether they be your spouse or parent, has the ability to make decisions for you.
- Recognized by Maryland Medical Providers: Ensures that hospitals and doctors follow your designated representative’s instructions in accordance with state laws.
- Allows for HIPAA Authorization: Permits your appointed agent to access medical records and communicate with health care providers on your behalf.
This document, along with the financial power of attorney, ensures that while you are alive your assets are protected by choosing someone you trust. If that chosen agent ever needs to be changed, we can make sure that document stays up to date, too.
What is a Trust?
There are two main types of trusts: revocable and irrevocable. These trusts have different purposes, but they both avoid probate court. They are both private contracts and are helpful in providing privacy. A revocable trust is the most common and easiest to construct. You have access to all your assets in this trust, and the trust document will not become “Active” until the grantor passes away.
An irrevocable trust is different. It is a tool used to protect assets from creditors or Medicaid. For example, if you know entering a nursing home is inevitable and you do not want to be penalized for having multiple assets or drain your assets to meet the minimum threshold for Medicaid to kick in, an irrevocable trust can help remove assets from your name and protect them from the Medicaid look-back period. An irrevocable trust cannot be changed once it is created, but there are nuances to this situation. Talking with an estate planning lawyer near you is helpful in getting a better understanding of whether this is the right move for you and your loved ones.
Pour-Over Wills: How They Work
Every trust should come with a pour-over will. This means that if any asset is not titled to the trust or if the trust is designated as beneficiary, and the grantor dies, the asset will have to pass through probate. However, the pour over will indicates to the court that even though this asset is in probate, it will be directed to the trust. It acts like a safety net in case some asset is forgotten or obtained without proper funding from the trust.
Choosing the Right Estate Planning Attorney Near Me Location in Anne Arundel County
When choosing an estate planning attorney near you, it is important to not only feel educated but to feel emotionally supported. Dealing with legal documents is hard, dealing with them knowing that they are plans for when you die hits differently than any other legal process.
At Chesapeake Wills and Trusts, our most common theme we hear from our testimonials is that our clients felt heard, were educated on the process, and felt that the process was easy and clear. Our estate planning attorneys are not only well versed in estate planning law, but they also know that building a relationship with our clients is just as important. Reach out for a consultation to learn more about our team and what we can do for you.