Wills & Estate Planning – Kelly Law Offices

Wills

brandon — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 03:23:36 +0000

A Will allows you to nominate an Executor and direct distribution of personal and real property and other investments to a spouse, children, heirs, and select charities. A Simple Will is often sufficient, but it must be properly prepared and executed if it is to have effect. In today’s internet age electronic data base accounts need to be specifically addressed. A simple Will should be supported by a Power of Attorney and Healthcare Directive. Those with minor children should consider adding a Contingent Trust provision.

A Contingent Trust comes to life in the event minor children or even college-age children are orphaned. They provide professional money management and conditional access to an inheritance. A Will should be supported by a Power of Attorney and a Healthcare Directive. If your net worth at death will likely be greater than a 1.3 million dollars, your estate plan should consider estate tax avoidance planning. The advice of a CPA may be needed. Mr. Kelly can guide you through the estate planning process, in a manner that is efficient and prepare the documents you need at a reasonable cost. Please call for an appointment.

Contact Kelly Law: 952-474-5977

Trusts

brandon — Wed, 02 Nov 2016 03:27:28 +0000

A Trust is a present financial management tool that will also speak for you after death. As such it can serve to avoid the need for probate proceedings. It can unburden you of the need to personally manage your financial affairs and give you the confidence of present financial management through a trustee, perhaps a bank, and set forth your instructions for distribution of your estate after death. A Trust is a valuable tool if you have wealth in need of professional management, anticipate future need of professional assistance in the management of your personal affairs or properties, desire to avoid a probate proceeding, or wish your estate and financial affairs kept from public view. Typically, a Revocable Trust is employed. It allows you to modify or cancel the Trust if desired. Irrevocable Trusts are used to manage gifts to heirs.

Trusts can also be used to manage a family lake cabin, a child’s inheritance, and special needs of children with disabilities. Mr. Kelly can answer your trust questions and educate you on the benefits and process of trust creation and management.

A Special Needs Trust can be established by a parent for a child burdened by disabilities. It cannot, however, be established by the child themselves and certainly not by them after they have received an inheritance. A Special Needs Trust provides an income stream that supplements government support benefits available to a disabled person without the whole trust corpus needing to spent or paid to the government. A family with a member who has disabilities should discuss the inclusion of Special Need Trust provisions in their Estate Plan.

Contact Kelly Law: 952-474-5977

Living Will

brandon — Tue, 01 Nov 2016 03:28:59 +0000

A Healthcare Directive, sometimes referred to as a Living Will, authorizes another to instruct your doctor when, in the doctor’s opinion, you are no longer to consult on your care. You may use a Healthcare Directive to also make hospice care instructions, but that is the true role of a Living Will.

Of value to many is exercising an election to authorize a family member to make present medical decisions for you independent of mental competency. This requires a positive affirmative election and notice in your Directive. The Healthcare Directive document may also address cremation, organ donation, and burial.

Mark Kelly has assisted hundreds of clients on these matters and welcomes the opportunity to assist you.

A Living Will, first developed over 20 years ago, has evolved into a set of hospice care instructions. Such instructions can be included in a Healthcare Directive if you desire. Persons facing end of life will often consult with a hospice care nurse. Those discussions will often result in a set of hospice instructions, or Living Will.

Medical Assistance – The law expects people to pay for their own medical care unless they are indigent. When that occurs, the county Medical Assistance (MA) program will step in. The obligation to pay for medical care imposes a five-year look back to recapture gifts made prior to the date of the MA application. You cannot give away your money to your children and still qualify for Medical Assistance, if you did so less than 5 years ago.

Contact Kelly Law: 952-474-5977

Estate Planning

brandon — Tue, 01 Nov 2016 03:22:03 +0000

Everybody should have an Estate Plan. An Estate Plan follows from discussion of the client’s needs and expectations in the management of their affairs, both presently, and after death. Each person’s situation is unique. Your personal needs will dictate whether your Estate Plan will include a Last Will and Testament, a Revocable Living Trust, an Irrevocable Trust for family members, a Special Needs Trust for family members with disability, and/or Contingent Trusts for children or grandchildren. In most cases, Powers of Attorney and Healthcare Directives are also appropriate.

Contact Kelly Law: 952-474-5977

Estates

brandon — Tue, 01 Nov 2016 03:18:31 +0000

The term “estate” refers to the property that a deceased individual left behind. The assignment and transfer to named devisees in a Will, or heirs when there is no Will, heirs, may necessitate a probate court application and appointment of an Executor (Personal Representative).

Small estates, under $75,000.00, can often be handled outside of the Probate Court. Title to real estate, held jointly, can be clarified with formal filings in the Office of the County Recorder. Minnesota Statutes control the processing of estates and obligate the Executor (a Personal Representative) to give notice to the public and interested parties and then administer the estate in accordance with the law.

When a ruling is needed, a matter may be set for a hearing before a Judge of the Court. Typically, an estate can be processed from start to finish in approximately six (6) months.

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Probate

brandon — Tue, 01 Nov 2016 03:17:18 +0000

Probate is a court process by which assets of a deceased individual are distributed after creditors are paid. A “Probate” court proceeding is often necessary when the deceased held real estate, stocks, bonds, or bank accounts in their name alone.

Probate takes time to ensure interested people are given notice and creditors have a chance to come forward. An Executor appointed by the Court may sell property, pay creditors’ claims and distribute property to heirs. Probate expenses can be reduced by electing to use an informal process which avoids presenting matters to a judge unless necessary.

Contact Kelly Law for experienced help with your probate process.

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Elder Law

brandon — Tue, 01 Nov 2016 02:02:35 +0000

Elder Law encompasses not only estate planning, including Wills and the Probate Process, but also pre-death legal issues including medical assistance qualification, long-term care planning, and the appointment of present decision-makers through Powers of Attorney and Healthcare Directive.

An Elder Law attorney, such as Mr. Kelly, will work with your CPA to address potential estate tax liabilities, tax minimization and avoidance strategies. If your loved one or spouse is facing the likelihood of entering a long-term care facility, the income and assets of the healthy “community” spouse will need to be segregated from those of the to be “institutionalized” spouse.

Mr. Kelly can assist in that transition and advise on the income and assets that may be retained and what will need to be applied towards care.

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