A thoughtful and effective estate plan involves many considerations, including securing your own personal situation, passing assets in a meaningful way, reducing costs and taxes, and considering your thoughts and wishes. We seek to advise you to consider your options, make smart decisions, and establish your confidence that your affairs are in order.
Estate Planning Philosophies and documents
To ensure that you have an effective estate plan, our goals and philosophies include the following:
Providing security and substitute decision-making for your protection;
Planning for a distribution of assets in a fair, equitable, and meaningful way;
Preventing family fights;
Minimizing administrative costs and taxes;
Planning for an efficient and orderly administration; and
Obtaining simplicity, to the extent possible.
In preparing your estate plan, we consider your goals and wishes, examine your financial situation, and can work with your other advisers and agents to help craft documents that fit your situation.
All of our estate plan documents include the following:
Last Will and Testament;
Durable Power of Attorney, for an agent to assist with your financial and property decisions and avoid conservatorship; and
Advance Healthcare Directives, including a living will and healthcare power of attorney, for an agent to assist in your healthcare decisions and avoid guardianship.
Revocable trusts
In certain situations, adding a revocable trust to your estate plan may be helpful. Using only a will may present some disadvantages, as probate can sometimes mean extra administrative times and costs, and less privacy.
To avoid probate, we advise clients to consider using a revocable trust (also known as a revocable living trust). A revocable trust is like a will, in that it provides instructions on who receives the assets of the trust, who is in charge of administering the assets in the trust, and how the procedure of the trust administration should take place. Unlike the use of just a will, creating and properly funding a revocable trust avoids probate, provides for management of property and debt during an individual’s incapacity, and can allow for flexibility in administration.
Other Estate Planning ISSUES
For a complete estate plan, we can help you with numerous other issues, including:
Considering options for long-term care planning and Medicaid;
Protecting assets for children or heirs with special needs, substance abuse problems, or financial inexperience;
Coordinating retirement accounts and life insurance;
Planning for the continuation or division of family farms or small businesses; and
Creating a tax-efficient plan considering income taxes, state of Iowa inheritance taxes, and federal estate and gift taxes.
Contact Kate Kohorst (kate@kohorstlaw.com) or Daniel Fischer (daniel@kohorstlaw.com) for your estate planning questions.
Helpful Estate Planning Resources
Iowa State University Extension Guide to Estate Planning
Internal Revenue Service: Estate Tax