Riviera Beach, FL Estate Planning Attorney

Contact the experienced Riviera Beach estate planning attorney at Elder Law, P.A. and learn more about the services that will someday be a significant benefit to your family and friends. Scheduling a free consultation is the first step in ensuring that your loved ones are protected.

Why Is Estate Planning Important?

If tomorrow you suddenly become incapacitated, who will make medical decisions for you? Does this person know whether you would want a DNR or a feeding tube or a ventilator? If you have minor children, do you know who will care for them in the event that you suddenly pass? Who should inherit your house, savings, heirlooms, and be the beneficiary on your life insurance policy? 

These questions and more are why estate planning is essential to anyone’s life. You want the decisions regarding your person and property to be understood and respected, and creating a comprehensive estate plan is the way to ensure it will be done. In addition to making sure your wishes are followed, estate planning helps to avoid family strife as a legally enforceable will prevents challenges and litigation among beneficiaries.

What Does Estate Planning Entail?

Estate planning comes with a lot of documentation. These documents will help your loved ones proceed when you become sick or when you pass. Here are a few of the estate planning services you can expect when you make an appointment with Elder Law, P.A:

• Will(s): In addition to your last will and testament, which is a record of your last wishes, you might also want to consider a joint will (if you are married), a pour over will (which designates assets at the time of your death to be moved to your trust), and a living will. This last one is particularly important as it details your medical decisions in the event you become incapacitated.

• Trust: A will alone is not enough to bypass the lengthy process of probate. When your assets are secured in a trust, they will go directly to your beneficiary. There are different types of trusts, including a revocable trust which can be altered throughout your lifetime, and an irrevocable trust which generally cannot. Special needs trusts are also an option for people who have a loved one that will require special care in the future.

• Medicaid Planning: In the event that you need to enter a nursing home in the future, Medicaid planning is a powerful tool that will help you and your family pay for the cost of your care without depleting the wealth you wish to leave behind.

• Power of Attorney: In order to ensure that a responsible party has control of executing your medical wishes, you can establish power of attorney to designate your chosen trustworthy family member.

• Enhanced Life Estate Deed: This type of deed allows you to bypass probate when transferring ownership of certain property.

These are significant parts of the estate planning process but by no means do they encompass all of your options. Reach out to the experienced Riviera Beach estate planning attorney at Elder Law, P.A. in order to discuss your specific and unique needs. 

Call Our Trusted Riviera Beach Estate Planning Attorney

At Elder Law P.A., lead attorney Ryan Jay Smollar will work with you to get to know your personal goals for your estate plan and guide you on the best practices to achieve those goals. With over ten years of estate planning experience, you can trust him to manage your affairs in the short term so that you can peaceably enjoy time with your loved ones in the long term. Reach out today to schedule a free consultation and learn more about the initial steps involved in creating your estate plan.