Estate Planning

Estate Planning will ensure that your last wishes are carried out, enable you to choose the person to be the guardian of your minor children, reduce or eliminate estate taxes, and provide a seamless transition for the transfer of your property without court involvement, reducing the cost to your estate and the stress on your heirs. Estate Planning also protects your assets from your heirs' creditors.

At Cota Cole LLP, we can assist you with the following Estate Planning services:

Trusts

Eliminate Probate Fees and Court Cost

A trust is administrated privately, so no court proceedings are required, saving probate fees and court costs. Trusts also allow the person you have selected to carry out your wishes to do so without going to court or encountering lengthy delays.

Reduce or Eliminate Inheritance Taxes

What Congress will do with estate taxes after 2010 is uncertain. Under current law, if you die in or after 2011 with an estate valued in excess of one million dollars, more than fifty percent of the amount over one million would be lost to the government. Good estate planning can reduce or eliminate such estate taxes.

Provide for Special Needs

Good estate planning can provide for the care of special needs persons well beyond your death—in many cases, without interfering with the government assistance they receive.

Wills

A trust is not appropriate for everyone. For smaller estates, a Will may be the appropriate tool to transfer your assets. In other cases, it may be appropriate to use other devices to transfer property.

Durable Powers Of Attorney For Property Management And Health Care

Durable Powers of Attorney assure that someone you trust will make crucial financial and health care decisions for you when you are unable to make them for yourself. Durable Powers of Attorney also ensure that your end-of-life wishes are honored.