Estate Planning
Edward Law Group counsels clients on all aspects of estate planning, including drafting wills, trusts, living wills, and powers of attorney for health care and financial decisions. When you look to the heart of an estate plan, you will find complex financial interests that need protecting. Edward Law works with all types of estate planning tools, depending on the individual client’s needs. A well-built estate plan will not only clearly state the decedent’s wishes for asset distribution but will protect the estate by minimizing exposure to estate and inheritance taxes.
Through the use of Living Trusts, Wills, Powers of Attorney, Living Wills, Irrevocable Trusts, Family Limited Partnerships, and Charitable Gifting Strategies, the firm helps families preserve their wealth for future generations, minimize estate taxes, and avoid the expense and nightmare of probate. Trust a common misconception is that trusts are only for people with large amounts of money, trying to avoid taxes. To the contrary, the most common trust is a Revocable Trust, which serves only to avoid the probate process after death.
There are many different types of trusts, each serving a different purpose. Our attorneys can help you and your family decide which trust is beneficial in your particular circumstance.Although there are various trusts, they each share a basic trust structure. The person creating the trust is the grantor/settlor. The grantor nominates a trustee to manage the trust. In some types of trusts, the grantor is the trustee and in others, the trustee is a third party. The grantor chooses the beneficiaries, who may inherit during the grantor’s life or at the grantor’s death.
​
A trust can be revocable or irrevocable. A revocable trust is used solely to bypass surrogate’s court at the grantor’s death and can be revoked by the grantor at any time. An irrevocable trust generally cannot be revoked by the grantor, except under certain circumstances. This is because Irrevocable trusts remove at least some of the grantor’s control to either move assets out of the estate for asset protection or to avoid estate tax.
After a detailed and deep investigative process into your needs, goals, and current situation taking into consideration such environmental factors such as the current tax laws, economic considerations, political considerations, and familial wants and needs, Edward Law Firm can offer assistance to position you and your estate be employing the below Trust tools:
Trusts tools we work with include:
Revocable Living Trusts
Irrevocable Living Trusts
Spendthrift Trusts
Charitable Trusts
Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts
Intentionally Defective Grantor Trust
Qualified Personal Residence Trust
Spousal Limited Access Trust
Grantor Retained Annuity Trust
Supplemental Needs Trust
Will
​
Only a trust and estates attorney has the knowledge base to draft a tailored, comprehensive Will. Each client’s situation is different and requires a unique estate plan that takes into consideration the difficult decisions surrounding death, inheritance and aging. Our attorneys and staff approach these sensitive subjects with compassion and practicality
​
A Last Will and Testament is a legal document that sets forth how your assets are to be distributed at your death. In a Will, you can choose who will be the beneficiaries of your tangible personal property (books, clothes, furniture, art) and your residuary estate – all your remaining assets such as cash, stocks, and real estate. You name an executor to administer your estate upon your death – bring the petition in the surrogate's court to validate the Will and follow your direction on distributing your assets.
Without a Will, your assets are strictly distributed according to your state’s intestacy statute – no exceptions. Without a Will your beneficiaries may not be who you expect or want to inherit your assets