Wills & Trust
 Estate Planning • Will and Trust Attorney • Conservator
Even if you are young, it is important to memorialize your wishes in writing before the unexpected occurs. Failing to spell out your intentions in writing forces your family and the court to determine them upon your death or incapacity. To learn how you can save your family from this emotional stress, call the Douglas M. Bushman Attorney at Law, LLC. We advise people about wills, trusts, and estate planning throughout Connecticut.
Sit down during a free initial consultation. After assessing your goals, we will draft the appropriate instruments, such as a will, trust, financial power of attorney, or living will. Keeping in mind the potential tax consequences, we strive to ensure your intentions are understood upon your death or incapacitation.
Living Will and Power of Attorney or Healthcare Agent
A living will and power of attorney are documents that describe what medical care you want to receive, and whom you authorize to make decisions about your finances and healthcare. Without these documents as a guide, the court must appoint a conservator to make decisions for you. Make sure you get a say in who makes these decisions for you by contacting a lawyer at Douglas M. Bushman, Attorney at Law, LLC to plan ahead.
Probate Litigation
Not every estate-planning attorney is capable of probating your will and trust. Some lawyers are strictly transactional, referring any will contests and probate issues out to another lawyer. We are an experienced litigation law firm, who will standup and fight for your interests during probate. Probate representation is usually a necessity in the following situations:
- Intestate administration
- Administration of wills
- Challenges to the validity of a will or trust because of incapacity, undue influence, or duress
- Allegations of wrongdoing by administrators, executors, and beneficiaries of an estate
Acting as Conservator of the Person and/or Estate we also addresses sensitive topics regarding elder care or the maintenance of those who can no longer make their own decisions. It may be necessary to go to Probate Court to establish a conservatorship. We can represent you and your loved ones with strength, experience, and compassion.
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An Estate Plan Is the Best Gift You Can Leave Your Family
Are you aware of the fact that a large portion of your estate may be taken by estate taxes and probate fees when you die? Without an estate plan a judge will decide how to distribute your assets among your heirs by following California’s laws of intestate succession. This probate process can take over a year to complete and will cost your family thousands of dollars. Furthermore, the government may impose an estate tax on the transfer of your assets to your heirs when you die if your estate is over the applicable exclusion amount. This tax could cost your estate hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Create an Estate Plan Now. Your Family Will Thank You Later
Without an estate plan your children will be forced to endure an expensive and lengthy probate procedure, wait a year or more to receive their inheritance, and may be required to pay thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars in estate taxes. Don’t leave your children wondering why you burdened them with these delays and expenses when they could have been easily avoided if you had done just a minimal amount of planning.
Imagine an Attorney That Actually Returns Your Phone Calls
Many attorneys do not return phone calls. You end up spending more time speaking with their secretary than you do speaking with the attorney you are paying good money for. Furthermore, many estate planning firms only have a very limited number of estate planning document forms that they use for their clients’ estate planning needs. If your needs to not fit those documents, you’re out of luck. You may end up signing documents that do not meet your needs or intentions and this fact may not come to light until after you have died. Unlike many attorneys, at Douglas M. Bushman Attorney at Law, LLC we will actually return your calls nd draft documents that are flexible enough to meet your unique financial profile and your specific goals and needs. Basic Estate Planning Questions and Answers
Below are those questions most often asked of estate planning attorneys by our clients.
What happens if I pass away and I don't have a will?
When a person dies without a will, or intestate, the Connecticut statutes determine how a person's estate will be distributed. If the decedent was married with children, the first $100,000 goes to the spouse, and, of the balance, one-half goes to the spouse and one-half to their children. If married without children, the first $100,000 goes to the spouse, and, of the balance, three-fourths goes to the spouse and one-fourth to decedent's living parents, if any.
Do any estate taxes have to be paid if my spouse and I leave our estates to each other and then to our children?
Spouses who provide for each other with a will can leave an unlimited amount of assets to each other without having to pay estate taxes, or, if all of a couple's assets are owned jointly, upon the death of the first to die, all assets pass automatically to the survivor without being subject to estate taxes. Upon the death of the survivor, however, the survivor's entire estate in excess of the exemption amount in effect (currently $675,000, increasing gradually to $1,000,000 in the year 2006) will be subject to estate taxes. Estate tax rates currently range from a minimum of 34 percent to a maximum of 55 percent.
How can my spouse and I shelter our assets from estate taxes and still ensure that we are both provided for?
The simplest way to ensure that a husband and wife fully maximize their ability to shelter their estates from estate taxes and still provide for each other is to use exemption trusts (also known as "A/B trusts," "credit shelter trusts," "family trusts") whereby husband and wife each leave assets worth the exemption amount then in effect to an exemption trust for the benefit of the survivor. The surviving spouse can be the trustee of that trust and can use the trust's assets for his or her health, education, maintenance and support. Upon the survivor's death, the assets previously set aside in an exemption trust will not be taxable, even if those assets appreciate. This structure will ensure that a husband and wife shelter at least twice the exemption amount.
Is it appropriate for my spouse and me to own all of our assets jointly?
If all of your assets are owned jointly, upon the death of the first of you to die, all assets pass automatically to the survivor without being subject to estate taxes. Upon the death of the survivor, if his or her estate exceeds the exemption amount, the excess will be subject to estate taxes at that time. If your combined estates exceed $675,000, and exemption trusts are created in order to utilize both your and your spouse's exemptions, it will be more beneficial for each spouse to own assets in his or her individual name rather that jointly.
Should my spouse be the beneficiary of my retirement plan?
Whether or not a spouse should be the beneficiary on a retirement plan is dependent upon the size of the entire estate and the nature of the other assets that comprise the estate. Retirement assets must be given special attention since they are subject to both estate taxes and income taxes. Therefore, it is critical to make the proper beneficiary designation in order to maximize protection from estate taxes while maintaining the opportunity to defer the payment of income taxes that occurs when money is withdrawn from a retirement account.
I have a significant amount of life insurance. Are the insurance proceeds taxable in my estate?
Life insurance proceeds, similar to any other asset, are taxable. However, a simple planning technique, an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust, enables a spouse to benefit from insurance proceeds during his or her life and ultimately transfer the proceeds to children and grandchildren without being subject to estate taxes. Alternatively, a second-to-die policy, which insures the lives of a husband and wife, can be owned by an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust and the proceeds sheltered from estate taxes for the benefit of children and grandchildren.
You can rely on us to create an estate plan that saves you substantial amounts of money, prevents unnecessary complications, eliminates probate expenses and minimizes or eliminates estate taxes. Contact the Douglas M. Bushman, Attorney at Law, LLC today.
