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Estate planning is a collection of legal tools and processes that helps equip you for what can happen in your lifetime. The Estates, Powers, and Trusts law of New York governs the decision-making process that would be undertaken when a person is unable to make decisions for themselves or when they have not made decisions in advance. 

If you pass away without a plan in place, your estate will be subject to the law on who can benefit from it. This may exclude people you would want to inherit if you had been able to make a choice.

Estate planning exists as a method for individuals to make their decisions clear on these decisions while they are capable, if/when they become incapacitated, and when they pass away.

These decisions can involve the following:

• How to protect your assets
• How to give away your assets and to whom
• Healthcare decisions and end-of-life care
• Guardianship of any minor children you have

Estate planning is more than just creating wills or trusts. While they are some of the most popular and encompassing tools used in estate planning, there are other tools that you can use depending on your estate planning goals. 

Before you make any decisions, consult an experienced Brooklyn estate planning attorney. A skilled attorney can help you determine your estate planning goals and walk you through the different tools available for you to achieve them. At New York Legacy Lawyers, our team of qualified Brooklyn attorneys can evaluate your financial situation and help build an appropriate plan that applies to your needs.

Contact us at (718) 713-8080 to schedule a consultation.

While most people think of estate planning as only something that wealthy people have the resources for, estate planning can have a lot of benefits for people from all walks of life. Each person’s needs can vary and there is no one-size-fits-all solution for determining what kind of plan works best for you. 

The estate plan of a person who is planning to retire may be vastly different from the estate plan of a person who is just starting a family, divorcees may need extra safeguards for their plans, and parents with minor children would have to take additional consideration to ensure their children’s best interests.

Remember that your estate plan should change as you encounter different milestones in your life. Your estate plan should reflect and address the changing circumstances of your life.

If you are a young professional just striking it in the world, having an estate plan that addresses decisions about your medical care may be beneficial, especially if you live far away from home. Should you have pets, you may also include their care in your estate plan.

For those people who are married with children, safeguarding their future is their topmost priority. Who will look after your children and maintain their well-being when you have passed on is something that is one of the most important decisions that estate planning addresses. 

There are also a lot of contingencies that you can prepare with an estate plan to ensure that your bases are covered. Would you prefer your spouse to have all of your assets when you pass on or do you want to give away some of your properties to other close relatives? If you have been divorced and have children with your ex-spouse, you may also be able to address their inheritance by including them in your will or as a beneficiary in your trusts or include choice organizations that you would like to benefit from donations from your estate.

Aside from addressing your family dynamics, your estate plan reflects your intent and choice. After working hard to accumulate your assets and properties for your whole life, estate planning is the method by which you can ensure that your beneficiaries receive what you want them to receive in a timely manner.

Estate planning involves making many important decisions precisely due to the impact they could have on the most important people in your life. It involves being able to use the law to your advantage which is why you need a qualified attorney on your side. 

Our Brooklyn estate planning attorneys at New York Legacy Lawyers work diligently with our clients to create a personalized plan that addresses their concerns. Our practice is dedicated to equipping our clients with tools to aid them in planning for the future. We are here to help.

Contact our office at (718) 713-8080 or fill out our online form to schedule a consultation with one of our skilled Brooklyn elder law and planning attorneys.

Before you jump headlong into estate planning in Brooklyn, it is important to learn about the available options you have at your disposal and how they can help you achieve your goals. Planning your estate involves creating legal documents that spell out your intent on what happens to your estate, property, your minor children, your pets, and even yourself, when you are incapable of making those decisions for yourself.

• Wills – A Last Will and Testament is considered one of the most important documents any adult should have. In an estate plan, wills can give you the assurance that your estate is distributed to your beneficiaries as you intended when you pass away. Wills can name a person, called the executor, who will be responsible for overseeing the distribution of your estate in probate. Should you pass away without a will, your assets will be distributed according to New York’s intestacy law and you can have a lengthier probate process.
• Trusts – There are many different types of trusts that can be used for different purposes. Trusts can be considered legal vehicles where you can inject your assets and either set them up for future use, donate to charity, provide for family members with special needs, qualify for government benefits, plan your taxes, and avoid probate. Getting the help of an attorney who can explain which trust better fits your needs is crucial as setting up a trust can be time-consuming and costly.
• Power of Attorney – Like trusts, a power of attorney can have many different types and serve different functions. Its most important purpose is to identify a trusted individual who will be able to make decisions on your behalf when you are unable to make them for yourself, either due to incapacity or illness. 
• Health Care Proxy and Advance Directive – A healthcare proxy works similarly to a power of attorney. However, the decisions a proxy makes can be limited to medical decisions you are unable to make. An advance directive is a document that can indicate your wishes of whether or not you should be resuscitated when the choice presents itself. It can also list what kind of end-of-life care you want to receive.

As encompassing an estate plan can be, you can also use it for asset protection planning, availing of tax benefits, Medicaid planning, taking care of the guardianship of your children, avoiding estate litigation, and much more. 

As a practice area largely associated with elder law, it is normal to think of planning your estate as something that you need to tackle once you reach an advanced age. This is not the case entirely and anyone who has an interest in planning for the future can benefit. 

Our top-rated Brooklyn elder law and estate planning lawyers at New York Legacy Lawyers have the experience and knowledge necessary to guide you through creating your estate plan. The legal professionals in our law firm take pride in the work we do to provide our clients with a sense of security. 

We conduct a comprehensive review of our clients’ profiles and recommend appropriate estate planning measures, whether it is the use of wills or trusts, or other such documents, that can benefit their particular circumstances.

To learn more about how we can help you, call (718) 713-8080 today to schedule a consultation.

It is the task of a Brooklyn elder law or estate planning lawyer to ensure that the estate plan and the documents involved are airtight. Part of this involves using precise wording to ensure that the intention of the owner of the plan is interpreted as clearly as possible and leaves no question. It is also the job of an attorney to ensure that the documents are submitted and filed properly to avoid potential legal issues down the line.

Probate is the process of distributing a person’s estate once they have passed away, either through the oversight of an executor or through the state’s intestacy laws. This is one of the processes an estate plan seeks to streamline. Depending on a person’s wishes, wills and trusts can be used to avoid probate entirely, and avoid estate litigation and taxes that can complicate the process. It is the job of a qualified Brooklyn estate planning and probate attorney to make sure that the will can stand the scrutiny of probate. Wills, trusts, and other such legal documents should also hold up against potential contests regarding the distribution of assets which can involve escalating a case to estate litigation.

A skilled Brooklyn attorney can also advise you of the potential benefits an estate plan can have such as Medicaid planning and asset protection. If you or a loved one think that you would be needing to avail of government benefits such as Medicaid, a skilled attorney can assist you in the steps to follow to ensure that your assets are protected from the Medicaid look-back period through specific types of trusts. Your attorney can also advise you on the potential benefits of using trusts to defend your assets against creditors.

Ultimately, your attorney should be able to sit down with you and discuss which options would work best for your case and tailor-fit your estate plan based on your and your family’s needs. Your Brooklyn lawyer should have the necessary experience to fulfill their fiduciary duty in helping plan your estate.