Jennifer Reba Thomaidis, Attorney at Law

Estate Planning

You may not think you need estate planning for one reason or another. Listed below are 8 reasons why estate planning is important for everyone in all walks of life.

When you hire Thomaidis Law, LLC, I will provide you with a strategy custom-tailored to your specific estate planning needs. I will listen to your concerns and work unfalteringly to build a solution that best fits your unique requirements.

1. Provide for your spouse or partner:
Couples want to provide enough money for their surviving spouse or life partner particularly if one of the other is a homemaker. Without estate planning, the probate process could become very confusing and inefficient. Estate planning becomes especially important for same-sex couples because without a will, courts will not consider the life partner an heir and money will be distributed to your relatives according to the rules of intestacy and your life partner will be left with nothing.

2. Provide security for your children:
For parents with children under 18, there should be a will in place nominating personal guardians for the children. Otherwise, a court will decide without your input where your kids will live and who will make important decisions about their money, education and way of life.

3. Plan for incapacity:
Whatever the size of your estate, if you're 21 or older, make sure you have not only a will, but also a durable power of attorney and a health care proxy. This planning is important for everyone. Living wills, durable powers of attorney and health care proxies enable you to decide in advance about life support and pick someone to make decisions for you about medical treatment.

4. Provide for others who need help and guidance:
Do you have a family member whose life may become more difficult without you such as an elderly parent, disabled child, or a grandchild whose education you want to assure? You could establish a special trust fund for those family members who need the support that you won’t be there to provide.

5. Make a plan for your pet:
A growing number of people are providing for the pets if they are no longer available through incapacity or death to take care of them. Many states (including Colorado) allow owners to create a pet trust to ensure the care of their pets. There are wonderful options for pets to happily live out their lives, but without an estate plan, they may end up homeless or euthanized. See more on estate planning for pets www.pettrustlaw.com

6. Get your property to beneficiaries quickly with a reduction of taxes on your estate:
You want your beneficiaries to receive the property you leave for them. There are options to avoid or greatly ease the probate process through insurance, joint tenancy, a living trust, or other means. A good estate plan can give the maximum allowed by law to your beneficiaries and the minimum to the government. This becomes especially important as your estate approaches the magic number of $1 million, the level at which the federal estate tax kicks in under current law. You may even want to take advantage of tax laws designed to encourage private philanthropy and at the same time give you’re your favorite charitable causes.

7. Ease the strain on your family:
It is a good idea to take some burden from your grieving survivors and plan for funeral arrangements when planning estates. You may simply want to limit the expense of your burial or designate its place. You also can provide for your body to be cremated or given to medical science after you die.

8. Make sure your business goes on smoothly:
If you have a small business, the operation might be thrown into chaos upon your death. You can provide for an orderly succession and continuation of its affairs by spelling out what will happen to your interest in the business.
Remember…Even if you already have an estate plan in place, it is extremely important to review your plan every few years because laws are changing constantly and your planning may be out of date!

If you are seeking legal representation for matters concerning estate planning in Denver and the surrounding areas and seek and an attorney who will work with you to set and achieve the goals that are truly important to achieve the highest quality solutions, please contact me to schedule a confidential consultation. I look forward to helping you.

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The information you obtain on any area of law at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for individual
advice regarding your own situation.

© 2007 by Jennifer Reba Thomaidis, Attorney at Law. All rights reserved. You may reproduce materials available at this site for your own personal
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