Local Estate Planning Help

Buying a home is one of the largest investments an individual may make in their lifetime.

The local estate planning lawyers at Wegman Hessler Valore understand that growing your wealth through investments, like your home, is only part of the story. The future financial security of your family and the transfer of wealth to loved ones (or other beneficiaries) is just as important.

Estate planning helps to protect the wealth and financial stability of your family. If you're currently a home owner, or you're in the market for real estate, there are several reasons why it is a good idea to have an estate plan in place:

• Estate planning can save on estate and inheritance taxes. Estate plans that utilize tools like trusts can help minimize tax liabilities that might otherwise apply to the transfer of the home. Without proper planning, in some circumstances those taxes have been so expensive that families have had to sell the inherited real estate assets in order to cover the IRS bill. 
• Your estate plan allows the you to specify how your home should be transferred upon your death. Without an estate plan in place, the disposition of the home would be determined by the state's probate laws which may not necessarily match your wishes. An estate plan can specify if the home should be transferred to a spouse, children, other relatives, friends, charities, etc.
• Proper planning helps avoid family disputes and confusion by clearly laying out the home buyer's wishes regarding their property. This can help prevent potential disagreements among family members.
• Proper plans in place also allow the home buyer to nominate guardians for dependents. If the home buyer has minor children or other dependents living in the home, an estate plan can nominate the guardians who should care for them if the home buyer passes away. 
• Your plan can specify funeral wishes. An estate plan may include directions regarding the home buyer's preferred funeral or memorial service arrangements. This helps alleviate the guesswork for the family during an already difficult time.
• It can provide for special needs individuals. For home buyers with dependents who have chronic disabilities or illnesses, an estate plan is critical to providing for their long-term care and financial well-being. 
• It allows the home buyer to plan for incapacity. Estate plans often include advance directives like powers of attorney that appoint someone to handle the home buyer's financial and healthcare decisions if they become unable to do so during their lifetime.

So in summary, an estate plan gives the home buyer peace of mind that their home and other assets will be distributed according to their wishes. It helps provide security for both the home buyer's lifetime and after they are gone.

The estate planning attorneys at Wegman Hessler are well versed on issues that homeowners, individuals and their families. We coordinate with financial advisors, accountants and other trusted professionals to create a customized plan that optimizes tax benefits and protects wealth.

Our team of local trust and estate attorneys are known for their creative thinking and legal expertise when it comes to estate planning. We work with you to manage the complexity of issues when planning for the future. When you need an experienced estate plan attorney, look no further.