Burnham Legal provides comprehensive legal advice and assistance with all facets of estate planning. Proper estate planning provides strategies to manage and protect your assets in the event of physical or mental disability to ensure the proper people are assisting you without having to go through the Guardianship process. We can also provide advice and explanation of different techniques to direct, manage and transfer property, at the time of your death, to the proper beneficiaries while minimizing or avoiding probate court and estate tax liabilities.
A Revocable Trust is a legal document that is most often used to replace a Last Will & Testament for transferring property when someone passes away. A Revocable Trust can be used by anyone who wants to avoid the Probate Court process for property that they own. Property can include real estate, mobile homes, bank accounts, cars, business interests, and many other types of assets.
A Last Will & Testament is a document that is created for the purpose of directing where someone’s assets are going to go if they pass away. The person who creates the Last Will & Testament is the Testator (or Testatrix if they are female). The Testator decides where their real estate, cars, bank accounts, and personal items are going to go if they pass away. The Testator also chooses a person to make those transfers, that person is called the Executor (or Executrix if they are female). This document must be filed with the Probate Court upon the passing of the Testator, in order for it to be determined valid and for the Executor to be appointed.
We will work with you to explain your options, prepare the necessary documents, and provide the guidance to best achieve your goals for the transfer, management and administration of your assets.
