Estate Planning: Capturing the big picture
By Taylor Kenck
This post is Part Seven of the Series “Estate Planning Basics”
Estate planning is easier when you understand what your “big picture” looks like. Then you can connect that picture most often with the appropriate will or trust-based plan.
Introduction
Estate planning is the process that arranges what happens to your property and possessions when you pass away. The discussion around death can seem uncomfortable, but it does not have to be this way.
At Crestview Law, the overarching motto is to foster an environment that allows you to make these decisions with comfort and confidence. In order to meet this motto, the firm has adopted a number of approaches, including helping clients see the big picture, taking the time to educate clients on their many options, and empowering clients to make their final decisions.
Identifying goals
When it comes to helping clients see the big picture, the first step is identifying their estate planning goals. Often, this is something clients have rarely thought about, so thought-provoking questions are crucial in those moments.
Identifying goals is a very collaborative part of this process. While the attorney will ultimately be the one formalizing these goals in the estate plan, the attorney is relying on the client to identify the different property they own and the needs of their loved ones.
Client goals can be simple or very complicated. Some examples include:
Splitting their assets equally among their children
Providing for a loved one with significant special needs
Creating a family education trust to help grandchildren with higher education costs
Arranging the estate plan to avoid probate court
Your estate planning goals may match one of these examples, or they can be completely different. At the end of the day, this is your estate. Crestview Law is here to help you identify these goals, so that they can be reflected in your estate plan.
Educating clients on their options
Once clients have identified their estate planning goals and gained a vision of the big picture, the next step is to discuss the different ways to meet those goals. Sometimes, if a goal is very specific or very complicated, there might only be one or two effective ways to achieve that goal. Usually, however, clients have many different estate planning options. In these circumstances, helping clients understand the mechanisms in each option is key.
At this point, attorneys will start discussing things like wills, trusts, and powers of attorney. These are the typical mechanisms used to meet clients’ estate planning goals.
Last Will and Testament: a will is a legal document intended to communicate someone’s final wishes to a probate court and to the person managing the estate. A will is often the main part of an estate plan, and it typically is the best estate planning tool for Washington residents. A will also allows parents to appoint a testamentary guardian for their minor children. You can learn more about wills here.
Trust: a trust is a legal relationship that is created between property and an individual selected to manage and safeguard the property. A properly funded trust can often avoid probate, and it also is an excellent tool to provide many years of support to loved ones. You can learn more about trusts here.
Power of Attorney: a power of attorney allows an individual to give someone else power to make decisions on their behalf. This allows someone’s affairs to be managed while they are incapacitated or unable to act on their own. Crestview Law typically prepares powers of attorney for financial decisions as well as healthcare decisions. You can learn more about powers of attorney here.
Connecting goals to the right option
After describing the tools and options available to clients, the next step is empowering the client to make the decision that best meets their needs. This is a process, and Crestview Law is committed to providing clients with the time and resources they need to make these decisions.
One key strategy Crestview Law has adopted to reflect this process is flat-rate fees. Historically, attorneys charged clients on an hourly basis for services rendered; so clients had to remember that every extra question and discussion meant that their bill would be that much larger at the end. At Crestview Law, estate planning clients will know exactly how much their plan will cost before signing their engagement agreement. This means that clients can ask their questions and encourage discussion without worrying about extra fees. In fact, Crestview Law encourages these questions and discussions.
Many clients have goals that can be accomplished outside of the tools described in the section above. For some, maybe they can avoid probate entirely through a transfer-on-death deed (a type of deed that transfers real property like a house after the owner’s death). Others can meet goals through beneficiary designations in their retirement accounts. The role of Crestview Law can change slightly in these scenarios, but the firm is always willing to do what is best for the client.
At the end of the day, clients typically end up with an estate plan that incorporates multiple tools and strategies–all aimed towards the same big picture goals.
Conclusion
Estate planning is a journey. It’s a journey that naturally involves some hard questions, but that does not mean it has to be uncomfortable. Here at Crestview Law, the guiding motto is to create an environment that allows you to make decisions with comfort and confidence.
Please contact Crestview Law to schedule a free initial consultation to find out more.
Crestview Law has physical offices in Wenatchee, but we can serve clients throughout Washington with our many virtual tools.
