Are you looking for an expert wills and trust Lawyer in Long Island? Let us help you.
At our estate planning law firm in Long Island, our wills and trusts lawyers have years of experience working with clients and helping them realize their estate goals.
We take a holistic approach to estate planning. We listen to your needs and discuss your estate situation to determine the best legal strategies to help you achieve your goals. By establishing well-rounded Wills and Trust documents, we give you peace of mind knowing your loved ones will receive the full value of what you want for them hitch-free without losing a valuable part of your estate to taxes, debts, or liens.
Let us help you make well-informed decisions regarding your asset transfer. Call us today to speak with an experienced wills and trusts lawyer in Long Island.
Creating your wills and trusts Long Island
Asset transfer is a crucial aspect of estate planning. While deciding how you want your estate distributed to your loved ones, you must also address certain things like tax minimization, probate, and incapacity, among others.
Wills
A will is an asset transfer document. On it, you spell out specifically who receives what. However, it’s crucial you use the right terms as recognized by the probate court because your will must go through probate before your instructions can be carried out.
It is our duty to not only help you draft your will, but to:
- Help you make well-informed decisions
- Ensure it meets requirements for validity
- Assess all assets you own to avoid leaving some out of your estate plan.
- Assess all assets to know which should go through your will and which should go into a trust
- Customize your will according to your peculiar estate situation and goals
- Ensure your will says exactly what you want it to say
- Update your will when the need arises.
Requirements for writing a valid will in Long Island
- You must be at least 18 years of age
- You must be of sound mind at the time of writing and signing the will
- There must be at least two witnesses who must each sign and attest to the presence of each other
- The will must contain your signature at the end.
If you have minors, your Long Island wills and trusts lawyer may advise naming a guardian who would manage whatever property you leave for them until they come of age (18) to inherit.
Trusts Long Island
A trust is also an asset transfer document but with so many extras. As opposed to a will that goes through probate, trusts avoid this legal process. All assets held in a trust will pass to the named beneficiary quickly and without court intervention. But that’s not all.
There are two kinds of trusts: Revocable and irrevocable trust.
Revocable living trust
Typically, you fund assets into a trust by retitling the assets into the name of the trust. Hence, the trust becomes the owner of the property. The revocable trust, or revocable living trust or simply living trust, is one that can be terminated or altered at any time by the trustor. He can choose to take away assets from the trust into his ownership once again.
The trustor can also name himself as the trustee of his revocable trust and use the assets to his own benefits until incapacity or death, when his named successor trustee then takes authority.
Therefore, assets in a revocable trust are not fully out of the trustor’s ownership and would be regarded as part of his estate for tax and debt purposes.
If your goal is only to avoid probate and it’s cost and delays, then a revocable trust is the right instrument for you.
Additionally, when you get old and become incapacitated, your successor trustee will quickly take charge over your affairs. This is a great way to avoid the guardianship proceedings.
But there are other benefits provided by irrevocable trust Long Island you won’t get from a revocable trust.
Irrevocable trust long Island
An irrevocable trust is one that cannot be altered or terminated at any time by the trustor. After retitling assets into the irrevocable trust, he cannot use those assets, take them out, or terminate the trust all by himself. The assets go out of his reach and become the property of the trust. Hence, irrevocable trusts are perfect for asset protection.
Assets kept in irrevocable trusts are not counted as available resources for debt, tax, nursing home, and Medicaid purposes. Hence, you could keep millions of dollars untouched while still qualifying for Medicaid benefits. And you rest knowing your loved ones will get the full value of all you left for them hassle-free.
Wills and trusts lawyers near me Long Island
Having an estate plan that caters to all your needs brings you peace of mind for the future. Get help from our expert Estate planning lawyers near you by calling us today.