Estate Planning, Probate & Administration
The Estate Planning and Administration attorneys at Jennings Haug Keleher McLeod Waterfall provide legal counsel to individuals, families, and businesses in wide range of matters related to effectively planning for the transfer of assets. Our services include estate planning, wills, trusts, business succession, and estate and trust administration.
Creating Your Estate Plan
Whatever the amount of an individual’s wealth, every adult can benefit greatly from developing a thoughtful and well-reasoned plan for the future. Estate planning is much more than just transferring wealth from one generation to the next generation. When considering how their wealth will shape their families’ future, individuals face difficult decisions and complex issues.
Creating a well-designed estate plan starts with a thorough understanding of your personal situation and goals and continues with thoughtful recommendations to implement your specific objectives. Your personal estate plan should always reflect your specific, individual needs and goals. The important process of estate planning can be emotionally difficult. Families may have complex and unresolved issues and conflicts.
Our estate planning lawyers work closely with our clients to tailor strategies – from the most basic will to the most complex trust agreements – to achieve their objectives, strategically and tactically.
We show clients how they can achieve their primary objectives: benefiting their family members and friends, protecting assets and transferring wealth to future generations in a tax-efficient way. We help clients to achieve peace of mind with their estate plan, whether they possess modest assets or a large multi-faceted estate.
Because each estate planning tool has advantages and disadvantages, our estate planning attorneys review the options with our clients to best ensure that their objectives are clearly reflected and achieved efficiently. These services include:
- Distribution of assets at death to beneficiaries without the need of court involvement and minimizing estate taxes and administrative expenses
- Providing for the ongoing care and support of minor or disabled adult children
- Appointment of or defense against the appointment of a conservator or guardian
- Providing for management of assets in the event of incapacity without the need for a court appointed conservator
- Designating an individual to make medical and long-term care decisions in the event of incapacity to avoid the need for a court appointed guardian
- Planning for the orderly succession of leadership in a family-owned business
- Bestowing assets through Charitable Planning
- Planning to minimize estate and gift taxes
- Maintaining privacy of family affairs
Our attorneys pride themselves in making an estate plan understandable. Equally important, we share our technical knowledge and deep experience with your other advisors, thoughtfully and collaboratively applying our resources to further your goals and ensure a comprehensive estate plan. As external factors or personal circumstances change, an effective estate plan is reviewed periodically and updated with your counsel who know and care about your situation.
Estate Planning, Probate & Administration Attorneys
Estate Planning Tools
Our experienced estate planning lawyers provide clients with information about the full range of tools available to meet their goals and provide accurate and thorough document preparation to ensure that each client’s intentions are followed, and Will contests are avoided. Estate planning tools typically include the following:
- Last will and testaments
- Revocable trusts
- Durable financial powers of attorney
- Durable health care and mental health care powers of attorney
- Living wills and advance medical directives
- Beneficiary deeds and other beneficiary designations
- Special needs trusts
- Irrevocable life insurance trusts
- Family limited partnerships
- Buy-sell agreements
Probate Estate & Trust Administration
After the death of a family member or friend, the administration of his or her probate estate or trust can be a daunting and emotional endeavor without the help of an experienced attorney. Administering an estate or trust involves handling a wide array of legal matters, from the routine filing of necessary court documents to a myriad of complex tax returns.
Personal Representatives and Trustees are faced with complex responsibilities and potential personal liability for even the most innocent of errors. JKW’s experienced and caring attorneys work closely with Personal Representatives and Trustees and provide guidance through all aspects of the multifaceted and emotional post-death administration process, which is especially helpful to those who are handling an estate or trust for the first time.
With our background and experience, our attorneys help identify opportunities to reduce taxes and avoid costly mistakes and problems that delay asset distributions, jeopardize the financial interests of loved ones or cause family conflicts. We also work closely with your team of financial advisors to carefully coordinate and collaborate to enhance the strategies being implemented. With our help, family members can complete an administration without being overwhelmed and feeling unduly burdened. We carefully explain the entire process from start to finish and ensure that an estate or trust is distributed according to the expressed wishes of your loved one.
Our probate and trust practice is enhanced by the other valuable resources of our firm. By working as a team, we are able to address every legal issue that can be faced in passing a legacy to family members and friends. The breadth of experience of our team makes us uniquely qualified to assist clients with all aspects of probate settlement and trust administration.
Recognizing our skill in handling estate and trusts, we frequently represent beneficiaries in protecting their interests in an estate or trust, working with other beneficiaries and resolving disputes caused by confusing or ambiguous language in a will or trust. We welcome the opportunity to work with you and your family throughout this legally challenging and emotional process.
- Distribution of assets at death to beneficiaries without the need of court involvement and minimizing estate taxes and administrative expenses
- Providing for the ongoing care and support of minor or disabled adult children
- Appointment of or defense against the appointment of a conservator or guardian
- Providing for management of assets in the event of incapacity without the need for a court appointed conservator
- Designating an individual to make medical and long-term care decisions in the event of incapacity to avoid the need for a court appointed guardian
- Planning for the orderly succession of leadership in a family-owned business
- Bestowing assets through Charitable Planning
- Planning to minimize estate and gift taxes
- Maintaining privacy of family affairs
Our attorneys pride themselves in making an estate plan understandable. Equally important, we share our technical knowledge and deep experience with your other advisors, thoughtfully and collaboratively applying our resources to further your goals and ensure a comprehensive estate plan. As external factors or personal circumstances change, an effective estate plan is reviewed periodically and updated with your counsel who know and care about your situation.
Estate & Trust Litigation
Disagreements, unfortunately, do arise in the course of administration of certain trusts and estates. When a resolution of a trust and estate dispute is sought in the probate court, the matter becomes litigation (also known as a “contested matter”). The following controversies are examples of the contested matters handled by our Trust and Estate Litigation attorneys
- a challenge to the validity of a will or a trust for claims of lack of capacity or undue influence;
- construction or interpretation disputes;
- guardianship or conservatorship contests;
- trust modification, reformation or termination proceedings;
- breach of fiduciary duty claims;
- dispute over the validity of a creditor claim;
- trustee-removal and surcharge actions; and
- accounting controversies and disagreements over a proposed plan of distribution
Probate litigation frequently entails legal complexities unique to the Trust and Estate practice. That is why JKW’s team of litigation attorneys draw on the extensive expertise and comprehensive knowledge of our entire Trust and Estate practice to vigorously and effectively represent Trustees, Personal Representatives, beneficiaries and other interested parties in contested trust and e, state matters.
Our Trust and Estate litigation attorneys have an excellent record in handling matters in the probate trial court and in appellate proceedings. With our substantial experience in all aspects of the planning and administration of Trusts and Estates, we have the unique ability to provide you with comprehensive representation focused on the outcome you desire.
We welcome you to contact the Estate Planning, Probate and Administration attorneys at JKW for an initial consultation to discuss your estate planning needs, or for counsel on an estate or trust litigation matter. Our attorneys serve clients in Arizona and New Mexico.
