Wills, Trusts, & Estate Planning

Revising your estate planning in connection with a divorce can avoid potential problems in the future. Wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and advance medical directives require restatements in most instances. For example, most parties to a divorce do not want their ex-spouse to serve as their executor, trustee, trust beneficiary, general power of attorney, or their advance medical directive decision maker. You may want to distribute your assets entirely differently as a result of restructuring your family.

More and more, a person’s chief asset is constituted by what is in his or her 401(k) plan or IRA. Pre-death management of the distribution of these assets in the event of death is a tax intensive exercise, particularly if the distribution is to a trust benefitting children.

Finally, in the event of death, probating a will can involve filing annual reports subject to formal requirements to the Commissioner of Accounts, a technical and high cost matter. Proper planning can substantially reduce, if not eliminate entirely, the treatment of your assets as probate assets and this limits the extent to which the estate is subject to the accounting overseen by the Commissioner of Accounts.

We can give you peace of mind by helping you with all aspects of your estate planning, including the preparation of wills, trusts and providing sound advice.