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Passing away without an estate plan in Washington Township, New Jersey can leave your family facing a complex process to determine who receives an inheritance in accordance with county regulations. Your estate could remain wrapped in legal proceedings for months or even years, and this type of situation may even lead to estate litigation, pitting some of your family members against others.
With an estate plan, you choose what happens to your assets after you pass away, avoiding these pitfalls. Bratton Estate & Elder Care Attorneys can review your financial situation and help you put a comprehensive plan in place to deal with your estate as well as other issues that may be important to you.
Call 856 770 2744 today to learn more.
The Importance of Estate Planning
Some people believe estate planning is only about deciding what will happen to your belongings after you pass away. While this is part of it, the estate planning process documents a lot more than just asset distribution. It is a way to ensure your family members will be OK without you — both financially and emotionally.
It decreases the likelihood of a dispute and ensures your family has access to money immediately so they can take care of expenses in the wake of your death. It also ensures your minor children or adult children with special needs get the care they need when you cannot provide it.
As a part of the estate planning process, our attorneys will walk you through several steps that include:
- Choosing an administrator for your estate to handle the probate process
- Discussing asset preservation and deciding if this is something important for your family
- Naming a guardian and fiduciary for your minor children in the event both parents pass away
- Creating a trust or taking other steps to preserve assets for any dependents with special needs
- Medicaid planning and asset preservation
An estate planning lawyer in Washington Township, NJ can navigate this process with any family, whether you have thousands of dollars in debt, high assets, or a complex estate. As a part of building a comprehensive estate plan, we may need to create several legal documents for you and your family. This may include:
- A last will and testament
- Revocable living trusts and/or irrevocable trusts
- Powers of attorney for financial decisions
- Healthcare powers of attorney and a living will
- Guardianship and other documents related to the care of minor children
Bratton Estate & Elder Care Attorneys Will Build a Unique Plan to Fit Your Needs
At Bratton Estate & Elder Care Attorneys, we understand that each family is unique and has unique preferences, priorities, and needs. We can help you create an estate plan that addresses your priorities, no matter if that is providing for a family member with special needs, planned on giving to a favorite charity, or safeguarding your nest egg if you require long-term care facility placement.
Our team also understands that you want your estate plan to make things as easy as possible for your family after your death. For this reason, we take steps to ensure the probate process is as easy to navigate as possible with your will and other legal documents. Not only will it stand up in court if challenged, but it also will:
- Help your estate administrator enter it into probate easily or avoid the probate process entirely
- Give your spouse or other family access to some funds immediately, if necessary, to pay bills
- Reduce the risk of estate disputes or litigation, helping your family members remain on good terms
If you want to create an estate plan or update your existing estate plan in Washington Township, NJ or a nearby location, you can reach a member of our team today by calling 856 770 2744.
Estate Planning Can Safeguard the Future of Your Minor Children
If you have minor children still living at home, or if you are a young couple about to have your first child, estate planning is one of the most important things you can do to safeguard your children’s future. As part of the estate planning process, we help parents make decisions and create the legal paperwork that determines:
- Who cares for your children in the first hours and days following your death
- Who has legal custody of your children following your death
- Who has control of and access to any financial accounts or trusts for your children
- When the child receives access to any inheritance left for them
These documents can also address a limitless number of additional concerns, including information related to your child’s education, medical care, religious upbringing, and more. Although parents can “no longer make decisions legally on behalf of an adult child”, according to the State of New Jersey Department of Human Services, we can create documents that deal with guardianship for adult children with special needs and developmental disabilities.
Estate Planning Can Benefit Anyone at Any Stage of Life
People most commonly consider estate planning as they enter a new stage of life—before getting married, after having a baby, after retirement, or after getting diagnosed with a chronic or terminal illness. But there is no wrong time to consider estate planning.
One of the biggest benefits of this process is the peace of mind you receive knowing your family is taken care of if something happens to you. This is true no matter if you are 25, 50, or 105, and no matter how many assets you have to protect.
If you worry about your family’s financial health if something happens to you, reach out to an estate planning lawyer in Washington Township, NJ from Bratton Estate & Elder Care Attorneys today by calling 856 770 2744.
Talk to an Estate Planning Lawyer in Washington Township, NJ
At Bratton Estate & Elder Care Attorneys, we can create a comprehensive estate plan that addresses your family’s financial needs. This may include creating a will, funding trusts, naming a guardian for minor children, and more.
We have four New Jersey offices to serve you: Haddonfield, Moorestown, Trenton, and Linwood. We also have an office in Philadelphia. Of course, we can meet with you in Washington Township, NJ as well. Call 856 770 2744 today to schedule a time to get started.