About Estate Planning

About Estate Planning

Estate Planning is Important

When a person dies, his or her property will transfer one of three ways: by law, by trust, or by probate. Probate is a lengthy, expensive, court-created (and therefore public) process whereby inventory is taken of the decedent's assets and debts. It is a "one-size-fits-all" system, and does not take into consideration the decedent's specific financial situation. The court's involvement in your personal affairs at death can be burdensome on your loved ones and has to the potential to end with your true wishes not being carried out.

Creating an appropriate estate plan can help avoid probate, and save money, time, and estate value at death. It can also provide sizable benefits during your life. For example, through simple health care documents, you can specify your wishes in the case you become incapacitated or unable to make important decisions. Through the use of asset powers of attorney loved ones can continue to pay bills. Certain trusts can be used to protect assets from creditors and minimize potential federal estate tax exposure. By planning ahead, you can construct a plan that will keep your estate matters private and out of court, preserve your estate's value, and most importantly, minimize stress and burden on your family.

We want to enable you to protect your estate for yourself and those close to you for the present, and if you desire, for generations into the future. As your attorneys, gaining a clear picture of both your financial goals and your family dynamics is the most important step in the estate planning process. We will work closely with you to so that we may create a customized estate plan that addresses the needs of your specific situation. At JPR, we will only offer estate planning solutions that are fully consistent with your goals and never up sell you on overly complex estate planning structures.

If you wish to create or revise a plan, please call our office at 773-245-5262 or email us at info@jprlawgroup.com.


JPR Law: The evolution of estate planning