Wills and Trusts

The Law Offices of David N. Sloan, Esq. has substantial experience in estate planning, and can assist you in carrying out your wishes after death, with the least tax consequence possible.

Having handled estate planning and elder law matters over the last 30 years, David N. Sloan, Esq. has come to the conclusion that the majority of seniors today (and tomorrow) must address major issues in retirement planning. At our firm, we call them estate and financial planning. Wills, trusts, and powers of attorney are discussed below.

Wills:

Transfer of your assets after death is governed either by your will or by statute if you don't have a will. In order to prevent the State from deciding how your property is disbursed upon your death, you will need a will. If your estate warrants it, you may also need other estate planning devises, discussed below.

A will can be a very flexible document, disposing of your assets as you wish, setting up trusts to take care of family members after your death and to take advantage of any federal death tax exclusions or credits to which you may be entitled.

A will must be probated, however, resulting in some delay in the disbursement of assets. Also, your will becomes public record when it is probated. If your assets are sufficient to warrant it, and expediency and privacy are concerns, you may want to consider a living trust discussed below.

Living Trusts:

If you have substantial assets, and you are interested in avoiding probate, or in privacy, a living trust may be appropriate for you. Your property is conveyed to the trust, is managed by the trustee (which will be you until your death or disability) and, upon your death, the successor trustee named in the trust disburses the assets as specified by you in the trust.

A trust is not admitted to probate, meaning that the terms of it are private, and the trustee does not need a court order to convey any of the property.

A living trust also has the advantage that if you own real estate in another state, your personal representative will not need to open an ancillary estate in that state in order to transfer the property, so long as the property has been transferred to the trust.

Although a trust may save some probate costs, the value of the trust is still part of your gross estate, meaning you do not save any taxes. Also, the trust does not protect your assets from your creditors, and any income from trust assets flows directly through to you.

Power of Attorney:

A power of attorney allows you to appoint someone now who will take care of your affairs if you become incapacitated in the future. Your family would otherwise need to go to court to have a guardian appointed, and that person would be answerable to the court.