Many people think that trusts and estate planning can be left until after retirement. However, it is never too soon to start planning for the future. By getting your legal affairs in order today, you can rest easy knowing that your family will be provided for should the worst happen. A trusts and estates lawyer in Tampa can help you prepare.
At Melone Hatley, P.C., we will help you take the necessary steps to prepare for your future. Our experienced legal team is here to help whether you are just getting started or if you need to make adjustments to the plans you already have in place. Get in touch with us today to schedule a free case consultation with one of our Client Service Coordinators.
Issues Our Experienced Team of Trusts and Estates Attorneys Serving Tampa Can Handle
At Melone Hatley, P.C., we can help you through a wide range of trust and estate planning issues. Our experienced legal team serving Tampa includes the following:
- Estate planning lawyers
- Powers of attorney lawyers
- Living wills lawyers
- Contested estate lawyers
- Pet trust lawyers
- Planning for second marriage lawyers
- Trust lawyers
- Will lawyers
Securing the services of an experienced trusts and estates lawyer serving Tampa is the best way to ensure your future is in good hands so you can focus your energies on the present.
Trusts Are Useful for a Variety of Reasons
A trust is a fiduciary arrangement that allows you to pass your assets along to your beneficiary or beneficiaries following your death. While a trust can act similarly to a will, it provides options that a standard will does not. When establishing a trust, you need to designate a trustee who will hold your assets before passing them along to your beneficiaries.
There are a wide variety of trust types to choose from when looking to ensure that your assets are passed along in the way you wish following your death. An experienced lawyer can help you decide which type of trust best meets your needs.
Trusts offer a variety of benefits, including lowering the taxes you need to pay and bypassing the probate process to provide quick and straightforward access to your assets for your loved ones following your death.
The Most Common Types of Trusts
When choosing a trust, you will have several options available. Some of the most common trusts you can choose from include:
- Marital or “A” trusts
- Bypass or “B” trusts
- Testamentary trusts
- Charitable lead trusts
- Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRAT)
- Charitable remainder trusts
- Generation-skipping trusts
- Qualified Terminable Interest Property (QTIP) trusts
- Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILIT)
An experienced Tampa trusts and estates lawyer will help you understand the specific details of the different trust types and guide you toward the option that best meets your goals.
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The Estate Planning Process
There are many elements involved in the estate planning process. You will need to decide the way you would like your assets to be managed, distributed, and preserved following your death. Estate planning can also help ensure your financial obligations and assets are being handled properly if you become incapacitated.
Common assets covered in an estate plan include:
- Stocks
- Debt
- Pensions
- Life insurance
- Real and Personal Property
- Collectibles
- Vehicles
- Art
People typically think that estate planning is something that only the super-wealthy need to worry about. However, the truth is that estate planning can be a critical part of everyone’s future planning.
Having a Will Is Essential
Having a written will is critical, even if you have set up a trust. While your trust will direct the distribution of certain assets following your death, a valid will can help ensure all of your assets not included in the trust will reach your intended beneficiaries.
An experienced trusts and estates attorney in Tampa can help ensure that all the issues you would like addressed are covered in your will. There are a variety of matters that will need to be settled, and ensuring that you include everything in your will without help from an experienced professional can be challenging.
Your lawyer can help guide you every step of the way, whether you are just beginning to make plans for the future or looking to make changes to your will, estate plan, or trust.
The Probate Process
Probate is the legal process through which a will is recognized, and an executor or personal representative is appointed following a death. While you may have a trust that can bypass the probate process, there will still be matters that will need to be settled during probate, typically debts, taxes, and any property not contained in a trust.
Hiring an experienced lawyer is the best way to ensure your estate is set up in a way that streamlines the probate process, making things easier on your loved ones by providing them the quickest and easiest access to your assets after your death.
If your death leaves your loved ones facing significant expenses, ensuring a quick probate process that allows them to access your assets as soon as possible can be vital.
Get Help from an Experienced Tampa Trusts and Estates Attorney Today
Developing a thorough estate plan that addresses all issues that need to be handled following your death is an essential step in protecting your family. Don’t wait to get started. The sooner you establish your estate plan, the sooner you can relax with the knowledge that your family will be taken care of in the event of your death.
At Melone Hatley, P.C., our Tampa trusts and estates lawyers are ready to help you establish a trust or address any other issues through estate planning. Contact us today by using our online contact form, giving us a call, or starting a conversation through our chat tool to set up your free case evaluation.
