What is Estate Planning?
Estate Planning is the process of planning for two events, the event of death; or the event of incapacity.
At our firm, we review each client individually to determine what documents are most appropriate for your situation.
Wills and/or trusts are the primary documents for the event of death. For incapacity, we provide financial powers of attorney, medical powers of attorney and living wills.
Intake Form. Prior to your initial appointment, we send you an intake form, which asks a variety of questions about you, your family, your assets, and your wishes. No, we do not expect everyone to know all of the answers, but we ask that you do your best.
Initial Appointment. At the initial appointment, we review your intake form with you to get to know you and to learn more about you, your family, your assets and your wishes. We look primarily for two things:
1. Who are your beneficiaries, and when do you want your assets to transfer to your beneficiaries?
2. What kind of assets you have and how will your assets transfer to your beneficiaries?
Assets and How Assets Transfer. When a person passes, assets can be categorized as either probate assets or non-probate assets. Probate assets are assets that must go through the Court probate system in order to transfer title from you to your beneficiaries (e.g. personal property, real estate, business interests). Non-probate assets are assets that transfer to your beneficiaries through some other legal mechanism such as joint ownership or beneficiary designation (e.g. bank accounts, retirement accounts, life insurance). One of our primary goals in any estate plan is to avoid probate wherever and whenever possible.
Probate Avoidance. Probate avoidance is critical in estate planning. But why?
1. Expense: The probate process in Colorado typically costs between $2,500.00 to $5,000.00, which is unnecessary with proper planning.
2. Time: Minimum of 6 months, but on average 1 to 2 years.
3. Human Cost: Someone must seek appointment as personal representative and complete all necessary work for the probate process including marshalling, valuing and selling assets, evaluating and paying creditor claims, making distributions, accounting and reporting to heirs and the Court. More importantly, there is always an emotional toll going through probate. The probate process is necessary only because someone you know passed away, and as an already unfamiliar Court process, there is little time for the more important things, like grieving.
We are here to help you, please call or e-mail if you’d like to discuss your situation. As has been the mission since our founding in 2014, our goal in estate planning is your PEACE OF MIND.
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