Estate Planning Connecticut
Estate Planning can ensure that your healthcare concerns are adequately covered as you age, and your assets are protected and distributed according to your wishes after you pass. There are many details to address, necessary steps to take, and important decisions to make throughout this process.
Navigating even basic estate planning requirements including making a Will; documentation regarding healthcare decisions; assigning power of attorney; and protecting property, your business, and your liquid assets, can be complex. Planning in advance for a funeral and burial expenses can be emotionally charged.
You have worked a long time to build your assets and financial resources, you want to make sure they survive beyond your lifetime to benefit your family and loved ones according to your wishes. You want to protect the assets you have accumulated and protect the inheritance that your leave your family. Your wishes and needs and those of your family are unique. For that reason, we approach each client with sensitivity and compassion.
The attorneys at Ericson, Scalise & Mangan are skilled and experienced in Estate Planning. Because tax, probate and trust laws continue to change, we work closely with you, your accountant, and financial advisors to create an Estate Plan that meets your objectives. By planning early with the support of sound guidance, we can create a custom Estate Plan that meets your needs.
Our services include:
We will work with you to create a Last Will and Testament that conveys your wishes for how you want your estate handled upon your passing. You will name your executor and beneficiaries and communicate how your want your estate and assets distributed.
A trust can be a useful estate-planning tool for many people. They are set up for many reasons, including to protect beneficiaries, avoid court-supervised probate of trust assets and protect your estate's privacy, to protect premarital assets in the event of a divorce, to set aside funds to support you if you become incapacitated, to manage indivisible assets such as vacation homes and recreational vehicles, to manage closely held business assets for planned business succession, to hold life insurance policies, to efficiently give to charities, or to provide money for a disabled person without making them ineligible for Medicaid.
You can liquify the trust entirely if your circumstances change, and you have complete control over your trust until your death. Your home is still included in your taxable estate at the time of your death, although estate taxes affect relatively few people. Also, a living trust will not protect your assets from being taken by creditors nor protect it from the cost of long-term care.
You cannot change this kind of trust, so you won’t be able to take any assets out or even dissolve the trust if you change your mind. This trust can save your family money in taxes after your death, if that is an issue, given that your home may not be included in your estate’s value. Irrevocable trusts can protect assets from creditors — but the courts take a dim view of trusts established for the purpose of defrauding creditors. An Irrevocable Trust can be set up to protect your assets from the cost of long-term care.
Creating a special needs trust is a strategy to provide for someone who is physically or mentally disabled or chronically ill and does not jeopardize their public assistance or disability benefits. Usually, such programs as Social Security Supplemental Security Income, Medicare and Medicaid impose an income or asset ceiling. Funds placed into a special needs trust do not count toward the ceiling and must be used for medical expenses, payments for caretakers, and transportation costs.
We work with your best interest in mind. We will collaborate with your financial advisors and your CPA to create the most tax-optimized estate plan to meet your needs. We may explore an Asset Protection Trust or other estate planning tools to achieve your objectives and preserve the wealth you have created.
We will work with you to protect the business you have created and advise you during the transfer or sale of your business. Our goal is to help you protect your legacy and fulfill your wishes for the business now and after you are no longer managing it.
We help our clients navigate complex tax and probate laws and have a high level of knowledge and experience in this area of the law. With advance proper estate planning, we can help you avoid probate.
A durable power of attorney (POA) authorizes someone else to handle your finances or health care, on your behalf if you become incapacitated due to an illness or an accident.
This is a person whom you designate to make any and all health care decisions on your behalf when you are not able, including the decision whether to withhold or withdraw life support systems.
These directives are legal instructions regarding your wishes for medical care in the event you are unable to make decisions for yourself. Advance directives guide choices for doctors and caregivers If you become terminally ill, sustain serious injuries, or lapse into a coma, or experience advanced stages of dementia. Planning in advance for these contingencies protects your wishes and relieves those close to you of the immense responsibility of guessing what they may be.
A pet often becomes our beloved family member and companion. A pet trust allocates funds for the care of your pet and appoints a trustee to manage those funds. This can be very comforting to know that your pets will be cared for in the event you are no longer here to provide that care.
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