Parents with Young Children
As a parent with young children, you are concerned about protecting your children if something happens to you –or worse yet to you and your spouse. You want the peace of mind that comes with knowing you have a plan in place in case something unexpected happens.
The Sandwich Generation
You are worried not only about your growing– or almost independent– children, but also about your aging parents. You want to make sure that you have a plan in place to protect your children, and you also wish to verify that you have the tools to help your parents as they get older.
Baby Boomers
Your children are grown and independent –or soon to be. You are starting to think more about retirement and want to ensure that you have a plan to transfer your assets in the most cost effective and efficient manner. You also want to be certain that you are protected in case you become incapacitated.
Retirees
As a retiree you are worried about whether all of your affairs are in order, your ducks in a row so to speak. That means a plan for your assets, your health, your incapacity, and your passing. You want the peace of mind you get when you have everything in place for whatever may be down the road.
Estate Planning
Everyone needs an estate plan. That may mean a simple will, a revocable trust based plan, or something much more complicated. It also may simply mean making sure that all of your assets are titled in such a way that they will pass directly to your heirs even without a will.
Business Planning
Whether you are considering starting a new business, thinking about how to exit from one, or you need help with an ongoing business issue, we can help. If you are a family business owner, we can work with you to prepare a coordinated business and family estate plan.
Probate
If you’re searching for a Connecticut probate lawyer to answer your questions about the probate process, to help you through the probate process, or possibly to “just handle the whole thing,” you came to the right place. Together with my experienced probate paralegal, I can make the confusing probate process, well .. simpler.
Elderlaw
With the cost of long-term care increasing at a record pace, many people are worried that they will lose most or all of their hard earned assets. I can tell you about the pro’s and con’s of the various scenarios to protect your assets and explain the look-back period and spend-down options.
Special Needs Planning
If you want to leave money or property to a loved one with a disability, but you don’t want to jeopardize eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid benefits, you need to set up a “special needs trust” in your will or revocable living trust. Leaving money outside such a trust could have disastrous results.
Probate and Trust Litigation
Disputes often arise in the administration of a probate estate or trust, especially if there is a lot of money involved, or if there is a history of family conflict. Whether you believe someone has exercised undue influence over your loved one to get them to change their will, or you are defending such a claim, you need an attorney with both litigation and probate experience.
Contract Drafting and Review
These days everyone signs contracts. Whether it is an employment, severance or non-compete agreement, or commercial terms and conditions or a business buy-sell, spending money in advance to have an attorney review the terms will save you time, aggravation and money down the road.
Prenuptial Agreements
With more than 50% of marriages ending in divorce, you might want to consider a prenuptial agreement before you say “I do.” And if you have children from a prior marriage, you might unintentionally disinherit them without a prenuptial agreement and an updated estate plan.
A Different Approach
Our approach to estate planning is different from other law firms in several ways. To begin with, when we sit down for the first time, I will have reviewed your completed Estate Planning Questionaire Personal Information so I will have a good idea about your family and financial situation, your assets, and what you consider most important to protect in your estate plan. Together, we will clarify your concerns and goals and talk about who you want in the key roles in your estate plan. At the end of the first meeting, I will suggest an appropriate plan based on your goals and budget and I will tell you exactly what that will cost.
When I work on estate plans, I toss my timeclock out the window and work on a fixed fee basis.* That means you don’t have to worry about getting a $60 bill for a 12 minute phone call if you have a question or a change to your plan. And if you want to make a minor change in your plan in the year following the signing, I will take care of that at no cost to you.
*If there is extensive customization or significant changes and revisions, we may charge you for the additional time involved.
To learn more about our process click here.
Will you put this off until tomorrow? None of us has a crystal ball. Healthy as you may be, safe as you think you are, bad things can happen. My goal is not to provide you with an estate plan, it is to provide you with peace of mind. The peace of mind that comes from knowing that if something unexpected happens, you have a plan in place to deal with it. You’ve waited long enough. Get started today.
Click here to get started today