Wills
Trusts
Powers of Attorney
Transfer on Death Deeds
Business Succession Planning
A will is a legal document setting forth your wishes for how your property is to be distributed upon your death.
A will also can let a court know who you wish to care for any minor children.
There are state laws that dictate how these matters are handled if there is no will, but many people want things to be handled slightly, or even significantly, differently than the default laws provide. For example, a person with both children and stepchildren may wish to provide for them equally, or someone may want to leave money or property to a charity, or someone may want to specifically exclude someone from inheriting.
Trusts are legal entities that hold property of many kinds, in the care of a trustee, who administers the trust, for the benefit of of the beneficiaries of the trust.
We help clients set up “springing trusts” that only come into being upon someone’s death, per instructions in their will.
We also help clients set up revocable living trusts that manage assets for the benefit of the client during their lifetime and for the benefit of others upon their death.
We do not offer Medicaid trust planning or any other kind of Medicaid planning.
There are two kinds of powers of attorney: health care and property.
Under each, the person you choose to represent your interests and act on your behalf, called an agent, has a duty to act in your best interests.
Also, both types of powers of attorney will expire upon your death, which is why a will is still necessary.
A Health Care Power of Attorney document allows you to designate the person you want to make decisions about your health care in the event you can’t do so yourself and allows you to specify which kinds of treatments you want and don’t want, whether you wish to be an organ donor, etc.
The Property Power of Attorney allows you to designate the person you want to manage your finances and property should you be unable to do so yourself. The Property Power of Attorney document is lengthy and deserves careful consideration, because the agent will have a great deal of power you’re your affairs under this document unless some of that power is specifically excluded in the document.
Transfer on death deeds and other transfer on death instruments are designed to allow you to have ownership and control of real estate while you are living, then have that real estate pass directly to another person or entity upon your death, helping your estate to avoid needing to go through the probate process in court.
What happens with your business ownership interests at death may be set forth in the business operating documents. Even if it is, it is a good idea to have your wishes known through your estate planning documents, which we ensure match any operating documents.
If you do not have operating documents dealing with succession issues, we help you create them.
We work using flat rates. You will know up front what the total cost will be for the services most appropriate for you, barring unforeseen circumstances. Common fees are listed below. Additional attorney and state/federal filing fees may apply to these listed fees. The fees listed here are starting points. Fees ultimately depend on the complexity of the work required.
Powers of attorney (property and health care) – $100 each with a will, we don’t do them without a will
Starting at $600
Starting at $3,000 when not part of full estate planning
You don’t need to fear this terror, because you can and should plan to avoid it. If you have high-value patents or trademarks, here are your immediate next steps, the only way to truly protect your legacy.
So why is the standard will, drafted by a general attorney, insufficient to properly transfer patent and trademark ownership?
It comes down to three legal concepts.
Let’s look at the specific risks of poor intellectual property succession planning. These are the ghosts of your assets that haunt your legacy if you fail to plan properly.
Most people think of their IP like a regular asset that upon their death will either transfer automatically or be handled easily by the executor of their estate. But IP is different. IP is a tricky beast. The biggest, most terrifying difference is this: Patents and trademarks are time-sensitive, living assets that require active maintenance and use to survive and special documents to transfer ownership.
The thesis today is simple, yet alarming: A standard will and skimpy business operation documents can be a death sentence for your most valuable intellectual property. If you haven’t taken specific legal steps to address the unique life cycle of your patents and trademarks, your competitors could inherit them before your family or business does.
Let’s look at the Two Scariest Patent Searches! An inventor should run two different types of patent searches, a patentability search and a freedom-to-operate search, and mixing them up is a huge mistake that can cost millions.