Estate Planning

You’ve worked hard to build your business, as well as your personal assets. You want to be sure that both are protected after you're gone. At Shinners & Cook, we understand that your estate plan needs to address the complexity of your business interests and personal assets, both today and as they evolve.

When considering your estate plan, you may want to ask your attorney:

• How can I protect my family after I’m gone?
• Will my business be able to continue without interruption?
• How can I make sure my family won’t have to sell the business to cover the estate taxes?
• What are my options for including the charities of my choice in my estate plan? What are the tax advantages?
• How do I protect a special needs child?
• What is Medicaid planning?

For more information about estate planning, see below:

• Why you need a plan
• Create the plan that’s right for you
• Probate

Why you need a plan

Taking a Caribbean cruise with your spouse, watching the kids swim at the cottage, celebrating the graduation of your youngest from college – you've worked hard to provide your family with financial security and the special things that make a difference. However, if you haven’t taken the time to create a comprehensive estate plan, your heirs could lose as much as 55% of your personal assets to the government in the form of estate taxes.

We realize that estate planning is a sensitive topic. However, ignoring this subject during your lifetime can cause your family even more heartache after your death. Let’s talk about your goals for passing your assets on to your loved ones. If you’d like, we can also discuss how you can make a gift to the charity or charities of your choice, minimize your tax exposure, and possibly earn income during your lifetime.

Create the plan that’s right for you

An estate plan may be as simple as a will or trust, or it can be highly sophisticated, including remainder trusts, family limited liability companies, or Medicaid planning. Our expertise lies in designing your estate plan to minimize State and Federal taxes and protecting and transferring your assets to your successors as quickly as the law allows.

Depending on your needs and desires, our discussions will touch on a variety of areas, including:

• Wills
• Trusts
• Family limited liability companies
• Bequests
• Annuities and other income-generating gifting techniques

Probate

Sometimes probate cannot be avoided. The period after the loss of a loved one is difficult enough without the added pressure and responsibility of making legal decisions. Rely on our expertise. We help you avoid added costs and expenses by guiding you through the multitude of forms and procedures of Probate Court.

Shinners & Cook provides efficient Probate services, including representing individuals in guardianship and conservatorship proceedings, in all probate courts. We can provide you advice on:

• Personal rights and responsibilities
• Rights of the deceased
• Rights of the family

If you’d like to discuss your estate planning needs, please contact the experts at Shinners & Cook.