There is a common misconception that estate planning is only for the wealthy or retired. The simple fact is most people would benefit from thoughtful estate planning regardless of age, income, or acquired wealth.
Since none of us knows when we’ll have a life-changing event or accident, become ill, or even pass away, it’s important to have a caring estate plan in place at any point in life. A personalized estate plan not only names who inherits your assets and how, it gives you the freedom to name who can make decisions on your behalf concerning your finances and health if you are alive but unable to act or communicate on your own.
Whether you need a basic plan or something a bit more detailed for even greater asset protection and estate tax advantages, we promise white-glove concierge service at every step. Life is about facing challenges. Many of today’s families are raising young children, working, and caring for aging parents simultaneously. At Meyers Law Firm, we help create an estate plan to meet your unique needs to protect you and your loved ones for a lifetime.
While we provide well-designed estate plans with concierge-style services, it doesn’t mean our clients receive unexpected bills in the mail. We can work on a flat fee or hourly basis depending on your specific needs.
What Legal Documents Can Be Used for a Comprehensive, Personalized Estate Plan?
At The Meyers Law Firm, we provide you with an array of legal tools for your personalized Estate Plan. Below are some of the documents we can tailor for you.
Last Will & Testament
Your Last Will & Testament declares who is in charge of your estate upon your death (your Executor), who inherits your assets (your heirs), designates a guardian for minor children, and even provides instructions for funeral and burial arrangements. In New York, the Surrogate’s court oversees the probate of your will, which makes it vital that your documents be clear and concise, describing your wishes after your demise.
If you have an irrevocable or revocable trust, your Last Will & Testament must complement it and describe what happens to assets outside your trust. Only a seasoned attorney can prepare all of these documents to work together in a way that ensures your wishes are fulfilled.
Trusts
Some people choose a trust as the primary tool of their estate plan. A revocable trust holds assets transferred to it. You continue to manage and benefit from the assets as the grantor, trustee, and beneficiary during your lifetime. If you can’t act, your appointed successor trustee acts for you. Upon your death, assets are transferred to designated heirs according to the terms you chose to meet your goals. With a trust, you avoid the long, drawn-out probate process and allow your beneficiaries to inherit more quickly with fewer administration costs.
With an irrevocable trust, you can leave assets to your heirs while ensuring their inheritance is protected from creditors, lawsuits, and long-term-care expenses. This type of trust is a fantastic tool to protect your assets and your loved ones. The Meyers Law Firm can help you keep your assets and get the medical care that you need.
This type of planning is good for everyone. You can’t be too young or too old to procure this type of protection.
Halachic Wills
Halachic wills are designed to help ensure that all medical and post-death decisions made by others on your behalf meet with Jewish law and custom. Without a will, the state of New York has its own distribution plan, where a deceased person’s surviving spouse and children all share in their estate. But by Jewish order of inheritance, your sons are the sole heirs of your estate and inherit in equal shares, except the oldest son, who receives a double portion. Widows and unmarried daughters may be provided for indirectly but don’t inherit any property outright.
The Meyers Law Firm can help families who need this type of estate planning.
Durable Power of Attorney
This document names a trusted person to manage daily personal matters and financial affairs if you can’t act on your own. Your agent can ensure bills continue to get paid and social security payments and retirement account distributions are managed.
Your durable power of attorney can also designate a guardian for your minor children if you become incapacitated.
Health Care Proxy
This document authorizes a trusted person (usually a spouse or family member) to make health care decisions on your behalf in the event of short- or long-term incapacity.
Advance Health Care Directive/Living Will
This document tells your family and physicians about your end-of-life wishes. It’s your choice if you want your family to use life-sustaining treatment or convey your preference as an organ donor when you can’t make these decisions or communicate on your own.
Contact us for reliable and effective legal solutions.
Glenn R. Meyers, Esq., has been practicing law for 26 years in the New York metropolitan area, including Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties. The Meyers Law Firm (and its predecessors) is a family-operated firm originally established in the 1930s. We believe the firm’s success comes from respecting each client and listening carefully to their unique needs while providing reliable and effective legal solutions. Mr. Meyers and his team focus on estate planning, irrevocable trusts, revocable trusts, Last Wills and Testaments, and other aspects of elder law, including long-term care and Medicaid planning, special needs planning, and guardianship. The law firm also has a personal injury, general litigation, and Bankruptcy division.