Protecting you and your family during your life time and after your death is the essential goal of an Estate Plan.  You work hard to provide for yourself, your family and to make your loved ones more secure.  Preparing and establishing an Estate Plan is one of the most important things you can do for yourself and your family; yet, it is not generally at the top of a individual's priority list.  Many often ask why?  And, the answer is plain and simple.  It is because no one wants to think about death or the potential of becoming incapacitated during one's lifetime.

 

An Estate Plan will usually consist of a Trust, a Will, a Power of Attorney for Health Care (also known as an Advance Health Care Directive or Living Will) and a Power of Attorney for Asset Management.   The Trust (preferably) or Will portion of the Estate Plan should preserve as much of the value of your assets as possible by avoiding unnecessary expenses, costs, fees, and taxes.

 

Proper estate planning puts you in control and in charge of your finances and assets during your life time.   And, an Estate Plan will also spare your loved ones the expense, delay and often overwhelming frustration associated with managing your affairs when you die or perhaps become incapacitated.

 

In order to be functional, an Estate Plan must include identifying and keeping track of your financial assets and your life changes.  These documents are also living documents and require you update them as your life experiences major changes.   

 

At GMSA Legal, our comprehensive approach to Estate Planning includes protecting real and personal property, designating health care and financial decision-makers, living wills, ensuring access to medical information and records, identifying preferred caretakers for minor children, as well as end-of-life decisions, burial, and other considerations.  Once your Estate Plan is in place, you will have a peace of mind knowing that you have provided for yourself and your family in case the worse happens.