Everybody will pass away someday and it is important to be prepared. This includes designating beneficiaries, managing your assets, gifting whatever you wish to your loved ones, and so on. You will want to have a secure plan in case an emergency does occur because people unexpectedly die or become incapacitated every day. If you or a loved one passes away or becomes unable to communicate, your estate plan will determine the course of action that should be taken.
We help individuals and families plan for the future. Estate planning involves the transfer of wealth to intended beneficiaries, usually in a manner that minimizes taxes. Our Fairfax County and Richmond estate planning lawyers have over four decades of experience handling this area of law. Do not be caught unprepared without an estate plan, otherwise, everything may be left up to the state, your family, or other legal documents to determine what happens next. Hazelwood Law, PLLC can help you create an estate plan using a variety of legal tools.
Call us at (703) 455-5160 or (804) 601-8259 for an initial consultation.
Probate is a court proceeding whereby all final debts are managed and the decedent’s legal property title is passed on to their heirs. Proceedings for probate take place in the county’s circuit court probate division. The county is determined by the decedent’s legal residence at their time of death. Hazelwood Law, PLLC can assist you with the legal technicalities of estate administration.
If you are like many people, you’d rather spend your time planning a family vacation or how to update your home. You may daydream about your ideal car or a new recipe you’d like to try. That happens because it’s easier to focus on something that is much more immediate than facing the inevitable and the future.
However, life not always develops as we hope it will and people die unexpectedly all the time. That is why it’s so important to make plans for those things you worked so hard to have. If your affairs have not been settled at the time of your death, you may leave your loved ones with long-lasting and costly problems.
By making a plan for your assets, your descendants will avoid having to hear the court decide who gets what you fought all your life to obtain. They will rack up fees and have to face uncomfortable and unfair situations. An estate plan will serve to protect your beneficiaries. Remember, the court has no way of knowing which one of your children took care of you until your dying day and which one never even went to see you.
Nobody wants to face the possibility of dying young. However, if you are the parent of young children, that thought must occasionally cross your mind. Can you really feel comfortable leaving the decision of who will care for your children should you die to the court? It is hard to believe you would want your children to become part of a system that has nothing to do with the life they have always known. Work with an estate planning attorney in Richmond VA to make sure your children will be taken care of according to your own wishes.
A good estate plan will have an impact on the amount of taxes your loved ones will have to pay after you die. Even just some basic estate planning can offer the possibility of reducing a couple’s state and federal estate taxes as well as inheritance taxes. Other strategies may reduce the income tax your beneficiaries might have to pay. You do not want your hard-earned money to end up with the IRS. Once again, it is crucial that you work with an estate planning attorney in Richmond VA to establish a proposal that will benefit your heirs.
If you haven’t met a family that has endured unending squabbles when their parents passed away, you have probably read about it or seen it on the big screen. Fights among siblings that have different opinions as to how the assets should be divided can have them ending up in court and fighting as if they were each other’s worst enemies.
Taking the time to develop a comprehensive estate plan is a much better way to ensure that these kinds of fights and squabbles will have no reason to develop. Your estate planning lawyer in Richmond, VA has the knowledge to set out the right instructions in your will and trusts to help your family stay together after you pass.
Every family is different and has particular issues that need to be taken into consideration when doing your estate planning. You may want your assets divided equally among your three children or you may have a special-needs child that will require more financial assistance than their siblings. You may have been married twice and worry that your ex-spouse may suddenly leap into the picture. But you may want your children from both marriages to be treated equally. Once again, your best ally is your estate planning attorney in Richmond, VA. Make an appointment at the Hazelwood Law, PLLC to discuss these and other issues that may apply to you in order to make sure that they will be resolved according to your wishes.
Your estate planning attorney in Richmond, VA will advise you when you want a living will, if you need to establish a trust or if you want to assign somebody power of attorney, among many other important topics. Don’t leave for tomorrow what you can comfortably take care of today.
10 Basics of Virginia Estate Planning (pdf)
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Burke, Va 22015
Ph. 703-455-5160
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Richmond, Va 23233
Ph. 804-601-8259
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