Estate Planning and Probate
Probate is the legal process of resolving all claims and distributing a deceased person’s property, or estate, according to a valid will. A will has to be “probated” by a court, which means the court has to confirm the validity of a deceased person’s will so that interested parties can rely on its authenticity.
Estate planning is the process of accumulating and distributing a person’s estate in a way that maximizes what is transferred to the estate owner’s intended beneficiaries while minimizing taxes and probate court involvement.
Understanding Wills, Trusts, and Other Probate and Estate Planning Tools
We have years of experience drafting wills and trusts for individuals and business owners. We can advise you on a range of probate and estate planning tools, including durable powers of attorney, medical care powers of attorney, elder law planning, establishing guardianships, conservatorships, living wills, contested wills and probate administration.
This is a sampling of the probate and estate planning law services we provide to individuals:
- Conservatorships
- Durable Powers of Attorney
- Elder Law Planning
- Estate Planning for Digital Assets
- Guardianships
- Living Wills
- Medical Care Powers of Attorney
- Probate Administration
- Trust Disputes
- Trusts
- Will Contests
- Wills
Estate Planning and Probate Articles
Cocktail Party Small Talk, or What Happens if I Don’t Have a Will?
As the joke goes, the medical doctor asks the lawyer if he gets pestered about everyday legal problems at cocktail parties, the same as the doctor does about all sorts of everyday physical ailments. The attorney readily responds that he answers all questions...
Joint Tenancy Accounts and Safe Deposit Boxes: “Will Substitutes” or “Will They Substitute for a Will?”
You may be a party to a joint checking or savings account – most married people are and many seniors have children or other loved ones on one or more bank accounts. In choosing the type of account to have, you may have sat down with a bank officer who might have...
Proper Use of Advance Directives Beyond End-of-Life Decisions in Missouri
In the media today, much emphasis has been placed on using “Advance Health Care Directives” to aid in making end-of-life decisions after a person is incapacitated. However, little is commonly known about the different types of advance directives available or the one...
Buy-Sell Agreements Can Provide Protection for You and Your Family
A buy-sell agreement, by whatever name utilized, satisfies a two-fold purpose. First, the party who is selling their interest retains a liquidity for their investment, while secondly, the remaining owners control the identity of the ownership group, thus maintaining a...
