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Estate planning can help you prepare for the future and protect your hard-earned assets for generations to come. However, the process can be complicated, and there are many different instruments to consider as you prepare your plan. An experienced attorney from Gusty A.E. Sunseri & Associates, P.C. can help you by discussing your needs, concerns, and goals and identifying suitable strategies to incorporate into your estate plan. Contact us today for a free initial case evaluation to learn more about how we can help you with estate planning in the Pittsburgh area.
Estate planning may be one of the most important actions you take for your future and that of your family. You deserve to have the right attorney guiding you through the estate planning process and developing a legal strategy tailored to your circumstances, needs, and objectives. Choose Gusty A.E. Sunseri & Associates, P.C. for help because:
Some people erroneously believe they don’t need an estate plan. However, everyone has something to leave to loved ones after passing, such as a home, heirlooms, or other personal property. Furthermore, estate plans can serve other purposes beyond directing the disposition of your property after death. An estate plan can protect your interests should an emergency befall you. Estate plans can also help you guide your loved ones in making decisions on your behalf when you cannot. An experienced estate planning attorney can sit down with you to discuss your circumstances, concerns, and goals to develop an estate plan tailored to you.
Most estate plans incorporate wills. A will forms the cornerstone of an estate plan by serving several functions. First, a person can use their will to appoint an executor – the individual responsible for administering the person’s estate after their death. Wills also allow individuals to direct the disposition of their estate after death by making specific bequests of property or money to beneficiaries or leaving shares of the residual estate to particular beneficiaries. Finally, parents of minor children can use their wills to nominate a guardian for their children should both parents pass away.
Under Pennsylvania law, any adult of sound mind can make a will. Sound mind includes having testamentary capacity – the ability to understand the extent of one’s property and the consequences of making a will – and not suffering from undue influence from other people. State law requires people to put their wills in writing and to affix their signatures to them. A person can amend or revoke their will by executing a new will or a codicil – a separate, signed document – or they may revoke their will by defacing or destroying the document with the intent to revoke it.
Estate plans can leverage other tools beyond wills. Common estate planning strategies include the following.
A trust can hold and manage assets for the individual who created the trust (the “settlor’). A settlor creates a trust by executing a trust document and transferring assets or money to the trust’s ownership. The trust document will also appoint an individual or organization to serve as the trustee, who is responsible for managing the trust per the trust document’s terms. A trust document will also name one or more beneficiaries entitled to distributions of income and principal from trust assets.
Trusts can serve various purposes. For example, revocable trusts allow people to place the management of their assets in the hands of a trustee while retaining ultimate control over those assets. Irrevocable trusts can provide asset protection and estate tax benefits. Individuals or couples may set up Medicaid trusts to qualify for means-tested government benefits that help pay for long-term care. Special needs trusts allow developmentally or physically disabled individuals to qualify for government benefits or provide those individuals with supplemental income to improve their quality of life. Charitable trusts can facilitate an individual’s or family’s charitable giving to gain tax benefits or establish a legacy.
In a power of attorney, a person (a “”principal”) authorizes another individual (an “attorney-in-fact” or “agent”) to make decisions or take actions on the principal’s behalf. A principal may create a power of attorney to empower an agent to handle the principal’s financial, legal, or medical affairs. Principals can also create durable powers of attorney to enable agents to act on their behalf during periods of incapacity.
An advance directive allows a person to direct their medical or end-of-life care if they become incapacitated and unable to make or communicate decisions. An advance directive may include various documents, such as a healthcare proxy/power-of-attorney that appoints a trusted loved one to make decisions for you during periods of incapacity or a living will that allows you to communicate preferences regarding medical or end-of-life care to a healthcare proxy, other family members, or your healthcare providers.
Bank/brokerage accounts, life insurance policies, and other financial instruments may allow you to make beneficiary or pay/transfer-on-death designations for the account or instrument. These designations ensure that assets automatically pass to the designated beneficiary or beneficiaries upon the account/policyholder’s death, enabling the distribution of those assets without the delay or expense of probate.
Individuals can place real estate or other titled property into joint tenancies, in which they co-own the property with other persons. In a joint tenancy, a deceased co-owner’s interest automatically passes to the surviving co-owners without the need to pass the interest through probate.
Certain circumstances may make a lifetime gifting strategy – distributing monetary gifts or assets to beneficiaries during one’s life – an advantageous method of providing inheritances to loved ones. An experienced estate planning lawyer can walk you through the pros and cons of lifetime gifting to help you determine the suitability of such a strategy for your situation, needs, and goals.
Estate planning should not happen only once in your life. After you’ve created an estate plan, your personal and financial circumstances will change, potentially leaving your estate plan out of date or no longer reflective of your current wishes. Individuals should review their estate plan every few years or after significant life events, such as:
If you already have an estate plan, an estate planning attorney from Gusty A.E. Sunseri & Associates, P.C. can help you review it if it no longer reflects your preferences or goals. Our firm can also review and update your plan in response to changes in estate or tax laws, helping you revise parts of your plan that have become outdated by changes in the law or to take advantage of new legal benefits.
A comprehensive, tailored estate plan can give you peace of mind, knowing that you’ve made plans for your future and protected your family’s interests. Contact Gusty A.E. Sunseri & Associates, P.C. today for a free initial consultation with a Pittsburgh estate planning attorney to discuss how we can help you create or revise your estate plan.
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