Comprehensive Estate Planning

We prepare comprehensive estate plans for our clients.  These plans include all of the key documents you need for your estate plan, and are centered around either a Will or a Revocable Living Trust.  

A comprehensive estate plan typically consists of the following documents:

  • A Will that sets forth who receives your assets when you pass AND/OR
  • A Revocable Living Trust that designates who receives your assets when you pass and how those assets should be managed until they are distributed according to your wishes
  • A Designation of Guardian for minor children (if applicable)
  • A Durable Power of Attorney for Finance that designates someone to make decisions and manage your financial assets that are outside of a living trust if you become disabled or incompetent
  • An Advanced Health Care Directive that appoints an agent to make health care decisions for you, if you are unable, and sets forth your wishes concerning end-of-life care.  For more information on selecting your health care power of attorney, click here.  For more information on setting up a Living Will in Idaho, click here.
  • A HIPAA Authorization that allows your health care providers to discuss your medical conditions with your designated agents

For more information on our estate planning process, please click here.

Revocable Living Trusts

Our offices specializes in preparing Revocable Living Trusts and believe they are the best option for most of our clients.  We are happy to prepare Wills for clients who prefer them and who are not concerned with avoiding probate.

Revocable Living Trusts are legal entities that hold your property while you are alive and contain instructions for distributing that property after you pass.  Revocable Living Trusts do not have to go through the time consuming and expensive process of probate.  With a Revocable Living Trust, the trustee transfers the trust assets to your beneficiaries according to your instructions, without the supervision of the Court. Revocable Living Trusts require slightly more work to set up.  However, once the initial set up is taken care of, a Revocable Living Trust is easy to maintain.

Revocable Living Trusts are a good option for families who have accumulated assets – such as a home – that they want to protect and for parents with children who are not ready to manage an inheritance.  A Revocable Living Trust allow families to decide at what age their children should receive control over their inheritance.  For example, a thoughtful trust will give children a chance to “practice” managing a portion of their inheritance with the security of knowing that a level-headed trustee, chosen by you, is keeping the remainder of the inheritance secure.

Our flat fee Revocable Living Trust Plans include the following documents:

  1. Revocable Trust
  2. Certification of Trust
  3. Pour Over Will
  4. Guardian nomination (if applicable)
  5. Power(s) of Attorney for Finance
  6. Power(s) of Attorney for Health
  7. End-of-Life Care Wishes
  8. HIPAA Authorization
  9. Final Disposition Instructions
  10. Instructions for Disposition of Personal Property
  11. Assignment of Personal Property to Trust
  12. Transfer of Personal Residence into Trust
  13. Update to Homeowner’s Exemption
  14. Assignment of Business Interests to Trust (if applicable)
  15. Summary of Trust Provisions
  16. Asset Inventory
  17. Customized To Do List for Trust Funding

Want more information on Revocable Living Trusts?  Click here to read our blog post on the importance of including a Children's Trust in your estate plan if you have minor children, or if you are leaving money to someone else's children, and here for a blog post discussing why Revocable  Living Trusts aren't just for the very rich.  For more information on the key roles in a revocable living trust click here and on choosing the right trustee, please click here.  

Wills

Wills let you designate a guardian for your minor children and designate who receives your assets when you pass.  In some circumstances, Wills can be a good option if you have a very simple estate or if there is the potential for creditor issues when you pass.  The drawback to having a Will is that your estate must pass through probate.  This means that a Court must supervise the distribution of your assets after you pass, which can be time consuming, costly, and is a public process.  For more information on the probate process, please click here.

Our flat fee Will plans include the following documents:
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  1. Will(s)
  2. Guardian nomination (if applicable)
  3. Power(s) of Attorney for Finance
  4. Power(s) of Attorney for Health
  5. End-of-Life Care Wishes
  6. HIPAA Authorization
  7. Final Disposition Instructions
  8. Instructions for Disposition of Personal Property
  9. Asset Inventory

Ready to Get Started on Your Estate Plan?