EXPERIENCE peace of mind knowing you and your family are taken care of the way you want.
Why have an
We don’t like thinking about our injury or death anymore than the next person. Unfortunately, these are realities of life and it is imperative to be prepared for them. And the Dills Law Firm can help you be exactly that: prepared.
- Estate planning is important for everyone: whether single or married with children, individual or business owner, wealthy or not. Estate plans should be used by everyone to organize your personal and financial affairs so that you and your friends and family are prepared in the event of disability, illness, or death.
- Proper planning allows for arranging your care when needed and for the disbursement of your estate. It can also help your beneficiaries minimize tax consequences, so that they receive as much as possible.
- Estate planning is complex, but that does not meet it needs to be difficult or strenuous for you. The key is to hire an experienced attorney to create a plan specifically tailored to your needs and wishes.
- Our team works with you to determine the best plan for your assets, needs, and desires, and then design the plan created precisely for you.
Education & advice
tailored to your needs
documents
that live with you
service
that never stops
One size Does Not Fit All
what is an
The answer to what goes into an estate plan is dependent on each person’s assets and intentions. Many people think of an estate plan as simply having a will and maybe a trust, but it can be much more than that. Some of the documents that can be included in your estate plan are:
- Simple and complex wills
- Revocable trusts
- Life insurance trusts
- Special needs trusts
- Charitable remainder trusts
- Family partnerships
- Powers of attorney
- Health care directives
- And much more!
common estate planning mistakes
Unless you properly fund your living trust, it is just a niece piece of paper. To properly fund a trust, you need to transfer assets into it. Whether that’s cash, real estate, stocks, or any personal property, your trust only protects what’s in it.
Many attorneys miss this critical step in the estate plan process. They will briefly mention it while you are signing your estate documents, but beyond that you’re on your own. And because of that, you forget to take care of it and the assets stay in your name. Which means when you pass away, all your careful planning goes out the window and everything remains subject to probate, leaving your family in court, paying unnecessary fees, and dealing with avoidable stress.
The Solution?
We provide you with a simple-to-use asset planner to compile and organize all of your financial assets, personal property, and real estate. Before we execute your new trust, we’ll plan together to make sure all assets that should be in the trust are accounted for and properly transferred. Depending on the plan you select, we’ll either guide you through transferring the assets or we’ll take the primary role for your transfers.
By its nature, estate planning involves dealing with unknowns for when you pass away. Your assets; your family; and estate and tax laws. Your assets and your family situation are likely to change over time – particularly if you’re proactive and get an estate plan in place early – and tax laws are constantly evolving.
For that reason, your estate plan should be periodically and regularly reviewed to make sure it still works as you intended, that any new situations are addressed, and that it still complies with legal requirements. If you have ever had an estate plan drawn up for you, you are likely familiar with the attorney handing over a stack of papers, taking payment, and then never hearing from them again. Those plans get stale and risk becoming obsolete due to changes in your assets, family, and the law.
The Solution?
Preparing your estate plan is only the beginning for us. With your completed estate plan, we provide you an asset planner that you can continue to update in the future. This sheet allows you to gather and track all of your assets, so that you can quickly and easily make sure everything is being addressed as things. And, with our CareReview Plans, we provide annual reviews and updates for you.
While most estate plans focus on your money and real estate, we understand that you are more than just numbers on a spreadsheet. You should be creating an estate plan that encompasses all of you, both in life and after you pass away, not only to ease distributions but ease your family’s minds and hearts in a stressful time.
Because of that, our plans incorporate your burial wishes, health care needs, and your legacy.
The Solution?
While our plans certainly handle your financial needs, we also incorporate your burial wishes, health care needs, and your legacy. Our plans not only include a will and trust, but we also provide a healthcare power of attorney and a living will, otherwise known as a healthcare directive. And, we also offer “Legacy Videos” in which we’ll record you speaking about your life, stories, values, and wisdom, so that you may pass them along to your loved ones.