Kokish & Goldmanis, P.C. prepares simple and complex wills and trusts as well as living wills, and powers of attorney (medical and financial) for individuals. We also represent individuals in court disputes over the distribution of a deceased loved one’s real estate.
Our law firm is dedicated to providing a range of estate planning services, including analysis, design, drafting, implementation and estate and trust administration. We have provided these services in Colorado for many years.
We suggest Family Wise Estate Planning to our clients. This means:
We suggest that you have a Family Wise Estate Planning Assessment periodically to make sure your estate plan is current with applicable law and your goals. This should be done every 12-15 months. This is now even more important due to the new law tax known as EGTRRA of 2001. This tax law requires ongoing reviews of your estate plan and several revisions in order to keep it calibrated and current with the changes coming over the next few years under present law. This may involve amending an older plan in order to provide flexibility and protection to your spouse and family.
We are proud to participate on lawguru.com and provide answers to estate planning questions for the lawguru.com website. To visit their site, lawguru.com.
If you would like us to assist you with your Family Wise Estate Planning Assessment, contact us or call us at (303) 688-3535. We will be happy to help you.
Every Estate Plan Is Different, but the Process of Estate Planning Is the Same for Every Client.
Every estate plan for every client is different. The reason is simple actually. It’s because every client is different. That is the most important and compelling reason that estate planning and Wills are not commodities that can be purchased off the Internet.
Every client presents a unique situation. Each client’s assets and property are different and each family is different, as well. Due to these differences, a proper estate plan must be individually designed and drafted for each client. Now this is not to suggest that there aren’t similar situations, but to emphasize that each family and each client is unique.
While each client is different resulting in each estate plan being unique, why is the estate planning process always the same? I was reminded today by my friends at the American Academy of Estate Planning that every estate planning attorney who specializes in estate planning has an estate planning process that applies to every client.
1. The Estate Planning Assessment. In the assessment we meet with the client(s) and do an in depth analysis of family and assets to develop recommendations for the specifics of that client’s estate plan.
2. Estate Plan Design and Drafting. This second phase involves converting the design of the plan into actual documents: Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorney, etc.
3. Estate Plan Review. Once the draft documents are created, the next step is detailed review of the drafts with clients. This step can involve several meetings, but always results in final documents being created and made ready for signature.
4. Estate Plan Execution and Signing. This separate step involves the signing, witnessing and notarizing of all the final estate plan documents.
5. Asset Titling and Beneficiary Designations. After the plan documents have been signed and executed, it is necessary to synch the client’s assets and beneficiary designations with the estate plan. This is critical because how an asset is titled controls over the terms of the plan itself. We want to make sure that the assets are titled correctly for the estate plan to work the way it is designed.
6. Estate Plan Reviews and Updates. Since laws change periodically and families change as well, it is necessary to review estate plans with clients periodically. In these reviews, we can determine if any of the documents are no longer valid or proper and whether titles to property have gone out of synch with the plan. We also re-check on the plan design to ensure it still matches client objectives.
The six step process is always the same with every client, even though every client’s estate plan is different.
To get in touch with an estate planning attorney in Castle Rock, please contact us by clicking here.
Bernard Greenberg – Estate Planning lawyer
Greta Suneson – Estate Planning lawyer
