Helping You With All Aspects Of Estate Planning, Whatever Your Family Situation

Many people think of estate planning as writing a will, but there’s more to it than that. Through estate planning, you ensure that all the types of property you own pass at your death to whom you want, how you want. “All the types of property that you own” includes property that typically passes by will (for example, property owned in your name and property owned jointly with someone other than your spouse), as well as property that passes outside of your will (for example, life insurance, 401(k) plans, IRAs, and property owned jointly with your spouse).

We’ll also look at whether you want property to pass to your loved ones outright or “in trust.” A trust is a plan you create that specifies how the property can be used and names a “trustee” to take care of the responsibilities of property ownership. Trusts are often used when you want successive people to have use of the property (for example, “to my wife for life, then to my children”), when minor children would otherwise receive the property (because minors can’t legally own property), or when you want to make sure your gift doesn’t affect the benefits or services available to your loved one.

Estate planning also involves other considerations. We can plan to minimize estate taxes, where those are a factor. If you have minor children, we can make plans for who will raise them, and plan to provide that person with money to help. Together, we’ll identify and address your concerns.

 

P.O. Box 4054 Philadelphia PA 19118 | PHONE: 215-887-5208