Estate Planning & Probate

Estate Planning & Probate

Estate planning is one of those things everyone knows they should do, and almost everyone puts off—sometimes until it is too late. Estate planning not only helps families plan for their financial future; it allows you to make decisions that protect the people and things you care about: children and other loved ones, health, and family harmony. Once a plan is in place, someone knowledgeable must be available to carry out the plan after you are gone.

How We Can Help

Nearly everyone benefits from having a customized estate plan, regardless of the amount of assets or number of heirs they have. Estate planning is important to ensure the orderly transfer of family assets, as well as to protect those assets from unnecessary taxation. Wold Johnson can assist with pre-death planning and transfers, as well as carrying out that plan after death. Clients can trust Wold Johnson to educate and represent them through the estate planning and probate process. Whether you are contemplating the creation of an estate plan to secure your well-being and your family's future, or dealing with the need to probate an estate, Wold Johnson can help.

• Estate Planning. Whether you want to provide a legacy for your family, appoint guardians and caregivers for minor children, impart financial security to your family or successive generations, establish tax-advantaged gifting and transfer strategies, minimize your estate tax exposure, protect your assets, or give back to the community with contributions to charitable organizations, our estate planning team works with you to identify your goals and priorities while helping you minimize the weight of estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer taxes. We take an individualized approach to your plan and make complex concepts understandable, personalizing it to address your wishes and ensure your assets are distributed to the right people, at the right time and in the right proportion. Our law firm advises clients on wills, trusts, business successions, and real estate transfers in order to pass property to family in the most tax-efficient manner. We also prepare health care directives and powers of attorney to maximize your decision-making ability before an issue arises.
• Probate Administration. The time after the death of a loved one is difficult enough without the stress of sorting out a probate estate. At Wold Johnson, we assist personal representatives in proper estate administration, offering critical expertise every step of the way. Probate law can be complicated, and missteps can be costly in terms of delays, money, and even personal liability. The guidance of experienced probate attorneys is invaluable in avoiding probate pitfalls and swiftly wrapping up estates. We can advise fiduciaries on a wide array of issues involving the administration of trusts and estates, management of probate filings, preparation of tax returns, and coordination of beneficiary distributions.
• Fiduciary Litigation. In the course of probate administration, emotions and family tensions can spill into the courtroom. We are prepared to represent fiduciaries and beneficiaries in the litigation, including will contests and breach of fiduciary duty claims.