At St. Peter O’Brien Law Offices, P.C, we specialize in safeguarding both your loved ones and your assets.
Estate planning can be a difficult process, but it is necessary to safeguard your assets and ensure they are distributed to your loved ones according to your wishes after you’re gone. With the help of our compassionate Missoula estate planning attorneys, you can secure your legacy and ensure a smooth process for transferring assets to your loved ones. Estate planning also includes directives for important decisions about your health and finances should you become incapacitated by an injury or illness.
Estate planning is not a one-time project. It is a lifelong process that requires periodic review of your legal documents and planning goals. Therefore, working with an estate attorney you know and trust is essential. Our local law firm has years of experience in helping clients from all walks of life with their estate planning goals. We are happy to guide you through significant life events that may change your estate planning needs, including retirement, marriage or divorce, having children, or serious illnesses in the family.
Most people spend their lives earning, saving and accumulating property. However, they hesitate when it comes to making a plan for these assets when they pass on.
We develop so many important relationships in our lifetimes – family, friends, and organizations. We value each of them for different reasons.
Without a will to guide them, the people you love can flounder on the division and distribution of assets, causing stress in their relationships that can sometimes be permanent.
A will takes into consideration the people and projects you value. It allows you to ease the lives of your family and friends by letting them know that you thought enough of them to make a plan for this transition. To ensure your will is legally binding and valid, you must work with an estate planning lawyer to draft your will.
Wills and estate planning go hand in hand. However, these documents are just one part of a comprehensive estate plan.
A Will assists your family with understanding the decisions you have made regarding your assets and ensures that your wishes are carried out.
No, the courts follow a specific set of rules regarding distributions.
Yes, modest estates are making meaningful gifts to charities that are deeply appreciated.
No, there are several factors related to tax planning – the value of your investment assets may increase; you may receive insurance proceeds; or inherit assets during your life that could change the value of your estate.
Estate planning attorneys play a crucial role in resolving potential conflicts regarding guardianship for minor children. These professionals assist families in crafting comprehensive plans that clearly outline guardianship preferences and asset management, which can prevent legal disputes and family tensions.
By working with an estate planning attorney, parents can officially designate who they want to care for their children if something unforeseen happens. This prevents the courts from making decisions that may not align with the parents’ wishes.
Without an estate plan, families often find themselves in contentious disputes over who should assume guardianship. An attorney helps mitigate these conflicts by documenting clear, legally binding instructions, ensuring that everyone’s roles and responsibilities are predefined.
Attorneys not only facilitate the appointment of guardians but also ensure that financial resources are properly allocated for the children’s future. They help structure the estate in a way that supports the children’s health, education, and general well-being, preventing disagreements over the use of assets.
In the absence of a solid estate plan, legal battles can occur over both asset distribution and guardianship. Attorneys provide preemptive measures to minimize these scenarios, saving families time, money, and emotional distress.
By engaging an estate planning attorney, families can avoid costly and emotionally taxing legal battles, ensuring that the children’s welfare is the priority.
Navigating the probate and trust administration in Montana is a structured journey that involves several key steps. Here’s a streamlined guide to help you understand the process:
By understanding each step and bridging the legal complexities involved, the probate and trust administration process in Montana can be managed efficiently, ensuring a seamless transition for all parties involved.
Estate planning attorneys are pivotal in navigating the complexities of long-term care planning. Here’s how they can assist:
Crafting a Comprehensive Plan
Attorneys work with clients to develop personalized long-term care strategies. These plans address potential scenarios like illnesses or disabilities, aiming to provide peace of mind for both the individual and their family.
Navigating Medicare and Medicaid
Understanding the intricate requirements of Medicare and Medicaid can be daunting. Estate planning professionals demystify these programs, clarifying eligibility criteria and helping clients maximize their benefits.
Protecting Assets
Attorneys implement strategies to safeguard assets from being depleted by long-term care costs. They employ tools such as trusts that can ensure continuity in wealth and resource allocation, according to your wishes.
Guidance on Federal Regulations
Estate planning lawyers stay updated with the latest federal laws and regulations. They advise clients on compliance, ensuring that their plans align with current policies and protect against unanticipated legal complications.
Planning for Dependents
Beyond individual care, these attorneys offer solutions for dependent family members, guaranteeing that loved ones receive the necessary support without compromising the estate’s integrity.
Overall, estate planning attorneys bring a blend of expertise in law and compassion, guiding clients through important decisions regarding their future and the care they may require.
Succession planning for small businesses, farms, and ranches presents a complex set of challenges and opportunities that require strategic navigation. The heart of the challenge often lies in balancing family dynamics with business sustainability. Owners must carefully consider how to treat all offspring fairly while securing the future of their enterprise, ensuring it can maintain its success for generations to come.
Opportunities abound in the strategic use of legal and financial instruments. For instance, family trusts and limited liability companies can be key in structuring ownership. Coupling these with buy-sell agreements and life insurance trusts can efficiently manage the transfer of assets, potentially reducing inheritance taxes. Additionally, implementing thoughtful gift-giving programs can facilitate the smooth transfer of wealth and business interests.
These tools collectively enable families to address potential disputes and preserve the legacy of their business, farm, or ranch. By employing these strategies, families can not only protect their assets but also foster continued growth and operational stability.
A trust is a legal document that enables a trustee to control, invest, manage and distribute the assets of the grantor for the benefit of the beneficiary. Working with our trust lawyers will help you determine if it makes sense to include a trust in your estate plan and guide you toward the right type of trust for your needs.
There are two basic types of trusts: a revocable trust and an irrevocable trust, which you create and maintain during your lifetime.
An irrevocable trust is created during your lifetime and cannot be changed. These trusts are generally used to accomplish a specific tax or estate planning goal.
A revocable trust, also known as a living trust, can be established at any time during your life. You can change the terms of the trust during your lifetime.
Both types of trusts can serve several purposes: 1) Save on estate taxes; 2) Manage assets for minor children; and 3) Manage assets for disabled adult children or even your spouse.
A Revocable Trust can be amended or revoked by the person that created it (the “Settlor”). This type of trust becomes irrevocable upon the death of its Settlor. An irrevocable trust cannot be changed after it is signed.
For a Revocable Trust, the beneficiary is usually the Settlor until the Settlor’s death.
If you are able to manage your own assets, you should name yourself as the Trustee. However, you can also choose an adult that you trust. Usually, your trustee is your spouse, a relative or friend. You many even choose a professional fiduciary to represent your interests. You should ask whoever you choose if they are willing to act as your Agent.
This is a person that may have to act in the stead of your first choice in the event that the first Trustee resigns, becomes incapacitated or cannot serve for other reasons.
Yes, you can appoint more than one trustee to act on your behalf. However, if the trustees disagree, a court may have to step in to resolve the dispute.
No, the Trust controls the assets titled in the name of the Trust. The Will controls all assets not titled in the name of the Trust.
A Funded Trust is an alternative to a probate. If your assets are all contained within the turst, a probate may be unnecessary. This Trust is usually for the benefit of its Settlor until he or she passes away. An unfunded trust typically receives its assets through a “pour-over will” following the Settlor’s death.
The Trustee should manage and invest the assets and income of the trust for the benefit of the Settlor/Beneficiary during his or her lifetime and make those assets available to the Settlor/Beneficiary in accordance with the provisions of the trust.
A Revocable Trust, when fully funded, has the following purposes: 1) reduce or eliminate the need for probate; 2) avoid the need for a conservatorship for the Settlor if he or she becomes disabled; 3) protect an inheritance from a Beneficiary’s creditors, a Beneficiary’s divorce or a spendthrift; 4) tax planning; and 5) privacy.
A Testamentary Trust is set up in your Will. It becomes active after your death and helps determine how your estate will be administered. This Trust is useful when your assets do not need management during your lifetime.
No, it is usually best to provide for discretion in some matters. For example, you may wish to grant a Trustee broad powers of investment of estate assets so they will have the flexibility to adapt to future changes in economic conditions.
A power of attorney allows you to choose someone you trust to make decisions on your behalf when you are unable to do so yourself.
Families who head to an attorney to discuss or put in place their powers of attorney, have, at some level, had a conversation about mortality, either with themselves or with their loved ones. The bottom line is the concept, forethought and some variety of a conclusion has transpired. In all likelihood a few particulars may have been overlooked; but the attorney can walk them through the process, sweeping up the previously untended details, to put together a succinct package that provides an appropriate safety net. Relief is achieved; life continues with a certain sense of confidence.
The American Bar Association advises families to put a power of attorney in place to plan for unforeseen circumstances that could turn their lives upside down. Sitting down with an estate attorney to draft power of attorney paperwork will help you gain peace of mind knowing that your wishes will be followed regarding your health and financial needs if you become unable to make those decisions yourself.
Who will make decisions for you when the unexpected happens? For example:
• When you need to close a real estate deal, but you are out of the country on business
• If you have an accident and are hospitalized and unable to make medical decisions for yourself
• If you are unable to make decisions as a result of a long-term illness
Powers of attorney can be made for different purposes –financial and health care are common. However, other types of powers of attorney can be used for specific reasons or purposes.
A medical Power of Attorney allows your Agent to make health care decisions for you, while a financial Power of Attorney allows your agent to make financial decisions for you as you would make them yourself and for your benefit.
Your Power of Attorney takes effect according to its terms, either immediately or upon the happening of some later event, and may be revoked at any time.
Your Power of Attorney does not affect your rights to make decisions for yourself. It just allows your Agent to make decisions for you when you are unable to do so.
You should choose an adult that you trust. Usually, your Agent is your spouse, a relative, or friend that you trust. You may even choose a professional fiduciary to represent your interests. You should ask whoever you choose if they are willing to act as your Agent.
You may change your mind and revoke your Power of Attorney at any time as long as you are not incapacitated.
You may change your mind and revoke your Power of Attorney at any time as long as you are not incapacitated.
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