Estate Planning Needs of Individuals and Businesses

Both individuals and businesses need to address issues of disability and death of spouses and parents, as well as key persons in businesses. This protection includes having wills and trusts and powers of attorney prepared for individuals and buy - sell and other agreements prepared for businesses.

Estate Planning For Individuals, Including Wills and Trusts:

Adults often do not want to consider estate planning, perhaps thinking they do not have enough assets to worry about or simply putting it off till they get "old".  However, most adults need to do estate planning now.  These include persons who have children, or have been divorced and have a “blended” family, or who are aware they need to plan for continuity of their business, people who do not want their assets to be distributed the way state law provides for those who die without a will or trust, and those who want to reduce gift and estate tax burdens. Elderly parents may also be a concern and need to be protected. Adults should also have other important documents to cover the situations when they no longer have the physical or mental abilities to handle their financial or medical needs, even if for only a temporary time period, and to tell loved ones how they want life-sustaining medical efforts to be undertaken during a terminal condition.

Estate Planning For Businesses, Including Operating Agreements and Buy Sell Agreements:

If you are forming or operating a business, you should consider estate planning issues, such as your own disability, death or even divorce and asset protection. If you are the majority owner of a closely held business, who will run the business if you are disabled or when you want to retire? Will your spouse or children inherit your majority interest and not get along with the other owners? This is an important issue, both to perhaps help finance your retirement and to keep the business running after the change in management and ownership.  If you do not want your spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters to share in the portions set out in state law when you have no will, then you need a will. If your assets exceed federal gift and estate tax exclusions, then you may consider ways to reduce or legally avoid paying those gift and estate taxes, leaving more money for your loved ones.