Secure Your Legacy For Your Loved Ones

You’ve worked hard to build your life’s achievements and provide for your loved ones. Shouldn’t your legacy continue long after you’re gone? With thoughtful estate planning, you can ensure your wishes are carried out, your assets are protected and your family is cared for as seamlessly as possible.

The team at The Law Office of Mary Beth Kelly, LLC, believes that estate planning isn’t only about distributing your wealth – it’s about preserving your legacy. I, Mary Beth Kelly, will take an inclusive and personalized approach to estate planning, helping you create a custom plan that achieves your specific goals. I’ve helped numerous clients with their estate planning needs for more than 14 years. You can trust and rely on my experience for your plan.

Because at The Law Office of Mary Beth Kelly, LLC, your family is my purpose.

Estate Planning – “Life Planning” For Your Loved Ones

Many people believe that estate planning is only for people who are particularly wealthy, have elaborate schemes in mind for passing their money to their heirs, or for people who are acutely ill and contemplating their death. This could not be farther from the truth.

Estate planning is for every husband, wife, mother, father, grandparent, business owner, professional or anyone else who has someone they care about, are concerned about providing responsibly for their own well-being and for the well-being of those they love, and for anyone who seeks to make a difference in the lives of others after they’re gone. Estate planning is not ‘death planning’; it’s ‘life planning,’ and an essential and rewarding process for individuals and families who engage in it.

When done properly, estate planning requires that a highly trained individual lead you through one or more in-depth meetings to uncover your hopes, fears and expectations for yourself and for those who are most important to you. This process almost always requires the preparation of several sophisticated legal documents, but those documents themselves are not ‘estate planning.’ Planning is a process, represented by a complete strategy that is properly documented and maintained by a professional who has taken the time to get to know you, understands the future implications and is committed to continuing to serve you.

Clarifying The Probate Process

Before clients make their decision regarding whether or not the will-based plan is for them, we discuss the probate process. Using traditional estate planning, when the client owns assets in their name with no beneficiary designation at the time of their death, the estate would be required to go through the probate process. This is a legal process requiring petitions to be filed with the Court, notice to be given to creditors, and a certain waiting period while creditors can file claims, after which, if proper, those creditor claims would be paid and then the assets would ultimately be distributed pursuant to the wishes set forth in the Will. For some, the traditional estate plan will best fit their needs.

Putting Your Affairs In Order Through A Will

Some clients will decide on the will-based, traditional estate plan, opting against the planning, titling and funding necessary to establish a trust. A will (formerly referred to as Last Will and Testament) is a legal document requiring formal execution that disposes of property after death. Using traditional estate planning, clients own their assets, individually or jointly, depending on their circumstances, and their will would direct where their assets (without prior beneficiary designation) would go upon their death. You can think of a will as a type of map instructing how to get from Point A (prior to death when you own the assets), to Point B (after death when your beneficiaries come to own the assets).

Comprehensive Solutions For Your Traditional Estate Plan

We also help our traditional estate plan clients with the following:

• • Durable power of attorney is a legal document that, once properly executed, allows someone who you have appointed to act on your behalf when you no longer have the capacity, often created to deal with property or health care decisions.
  • Living will is an advance medical directive that is effective while you are alive. A Living Will deals, in particular, with life-prolonging and end-of-life procedures (the degree of medical intervention and life-sustaining support). In a Living Will, you express your wishes for when you become incapacitated. Medical care, the degree of medical intervention and life-sustaining support are typically expressed in a Living Will.
  • Health care surrogate designation is another form of advance medical directive wherein you appoint someone to make health care decisions for you when you become unable to make them for yourself.
  • HIPAA authorizations are medical authorizations necessary because of privacy rules requiring doctors and medical providers to keep your health information confidential. If you become incapacitated, and if you have signed these authorizations, your loved ones or those you have selected will be allowed to obtain copies of your medical records. This could become critical under certain medical circumstances, and the record-obtaining process is made easier with signed medical authorizations.

Together with a will, these instruments will help your loved ones in the event you are incapacitated and unable to make important decisions.

Protecting Your Assets With A Trust

A trust is a legal arrangement that provides for the ownership, management and distribution of property. Think of a trust as a “bucket” into which you place your property. When you “fund” the trust, you place some or all of your property in the name of the trust … like placing the items in a bucket. The text of the trust is your set of detailed instructions that include such things as: what’s in your bucket; who manages and takes care of what’s in your bucket; who will get to benefit from what’s in your bucket; how often can the Trustee take from the bucket; what can be removed from the bucket; and why removals from the bucket are allowed.

Read more about how estate planning can benefit you.

You, the one placing the property into the trust, are known as the Grantor of the trust. The person who oversees the property in the trust is the Trustee, and the person(s) who receives the benefit of the property held in the trust is known as the Beneficiary. When your trust is created, there is a good chance you will be Grantor, Trustee and Beneficiary. If or when you become incapacitated, you will be named a Successor Trustee who will assume the responsibility of overseeing the property in your trust.

An irrevocable trust is a trust with terms and provisions that cannot be changed by the Grantor.

A revocable trust, which is a very common estate plan, allows the Grantor to amend the terms of the trust and/or take back the title of the property in the trust at any time.

Frequently Asked Questions About Wills, Trusts And Estate Planning

The Law Office of Mary Beth Kelly, LLC, can provide many services. One of the ways I can help you is by answering any of your questions. Here is a list of questions from my clients I have collected:

Can I have both a will and a trust in Florida?

Yes. Wills and trusts are separate documents that perform similar objectives, which can be used together to help ensure your legacy. While a will can help organize your estate for distribution after you pass away, a trust can simplify the process, avoid probate and limit disputes.

What does intestacy mean?

Many people die without a will. When this happens, it is called intestate or intestacy. Because there is no will, your estate is handled by the state instead of your executor of the estate. As a result, the state may name an administrator to manage your assets.

What happens to my assets if I die without a will?

If you die without a will or “intestate,” the state will take control of your assets and appoint a representative to manage your estate. After your debts have been paid, your remaining assets will be distributed to your heirs according to intestate rules of succession, which may not reflect your goals or desires.

Do I need a will if I have no children?

A will can be used to name children as beneficiaries and name guardians for children. However, there are many other ways to use a will. You can name anyone as a beneficiary, including parents, siblings, friends and colleagues. You can also use a will to designate your future health care if you become incapacitated and cannot care for yourself.

Can I amend or revoke my will after it has been created?

Yes. People frequently amend or revoke old wills all the time as their lives change. You may even update your existing will every few years to make major changes to your instructions or list of assets.

Your Estate Plan Is Just A Call Away

Whether you need a simple will, a robust trust, advance directives, or a full estate plan, I can guide you. Call The Law Office of Mary Beth Kelly, LLC, in Lake Mary at 407-536-6901 or send an email to discuss your estate planning needs today.