Wills, Trusts & Estates

You've invested extraordinary time, effort and determination to achieve security, build a business or provide for loved ones. Now it may be time to consider making a modest investment in planning for your legacy. Without planning and proper documentation, much of what you are working to accomplish may dissipate on your death in ways you never intended. Nearly half of your assets may be consumed by taxes. Your spouse may end up with a third or less of your property. Your business may have to be liquidated.

Bean, Kinney & Korman can help you take stock of your estate, define and organize your objectives, and develop appropriate strategies that best suit your desires. Although taxes may not be entirely avoidable, they can be minimized by using proven techniques. To the extent specific circumstances allow, spouses and other dependents may be assured of support and maintenance. Succession planning may help preserve a family business for future generations. We are adept in the preparation of wills and trust documents that work together to accomplish your goals.

Trusts also may serve a variety of useful purposes for individuals apart from their estate planning objectives. They may be used to transfer wealth to subsequent generations, on terms that promote its responsible use. They may be used to provide for dependents who are incapable of taking care of themselves. A well-conceived and skillfully arranged trust may advance any number of your aspirations for the future use and disposition of your assets. Bean, Kinney & Korman provides thoughtful and practical counsel on trust formation, assisting its clients in constructing workable and effective trust structures.

You should consider the possibility of your incapacity as well, and the extent to which you want extraordinary life-extending measures taken in the event of a terminal illness or injury. These circumstances can be addressed by a durable power of attorney and an advance medical directive.

Taken together, all of these documents allow you to determine in advance what happens to you and your estate when death or disability have deprived you of your ability to control events.

The firm also provides knowledgeable and responsive assistance to fiduciaries in their administration of estates and trusts, guiding them through the intricate requirements of tax compliance, accounting and closure. It would be our pleasure to assist you with your lifetime planning needs and to help you manage the process of fiduciary administration.

Please print and complete one of the forms below before coming to the office for your scheduled estate planning consultation.

Estate Planning Questionnaire