Clovis Estate Planning Lawyer

Reach out to a Clovis estate planning lawyer for assistance and advice on preparing a legacy that provides for your loved ones for generations to come. At New Mexico Financial & Estate Planning Attorneys, we always listen closely to you to understand your goals and your unique situation. You can then receive tailored recommendations for a will, trust, power of attorney, and other critical estate planning documents that help you pursue the future you want to see.

You’re never too young to start on your estate plan. Creating one can help your family, regardless of your income level. Book an appointment that helps you rest easier at night, knowing you have a careful strategy in place. Call our Clovis estate planning law firm or contact us online to schedule your confidential appointment with no obligation today.

Clovis Estate Planning Attorney Services

Estate planning means preparing your personal finances and legal affairs for unfortunate circumstances. No one wants to think about their mortality or whether they might someday be in a serious medical condition. But the reality is that a medical emergency can be more likely than you expect, and the end of life is unavoidable. 

With a strategy created with the help of a Clovis estate planning lawyer, you know that everything is in place just in case something unfortunate happens. Your estate plan can include any or all of the following types of legal documents:

• Last will and testament — A legally binding document that lists your heirs and describes what they should inherit from your estate. 
• Guardianship documents — These can be prepared in case you have a minor or disabled dependent at the time of your death, assigning someone to take over their care.
• Power of attorney — A power of attorney names someone as your agent, giving them the ability to act in your place for situations that you describe. For estate planning, durable powers of attorney are essential, as they let your agent step in to help conduct business, pay bills, or make medical decisions while you are incapacitated.
• Advance Healthcare Directive — A set of documents that includes a durable power of attorney for healthcare as well as instructions for care (a living will) and a primary physician designation. These documents activate when you have been incapacitated and need your agent (or another trusted person) to step in and make decisions for your care.
• Other arrangements, including beneficiary designations, bank authorization forms, and everything else needed for your estate plan to work the way you intend.

Come to our offices to receive personalized recommendations from a highly experienced Clovis estate planning attorney. We can help you understand the parts of your estate plan that are most important to your unique goals. 

An estate planning lawyer can also help you anticipate common issues that could arise and prepare accordingly. For example, you may end up wanting to write a letter of intent describing the decisions in your will, or you may need to complete a form for your bank to recognize someone with your power of attorney. Taking the time to handle these tasks can prevent significant confusion, heartache, stress, or uncertainty down the road.

Why Do I Need a Will in Clovis, NM?

Your will is a critical document. While there are many ways to transfer certain property without one, it serves as a catch-all for everything you don’t have pre-arranged through mechanisms like a transfer-on-death title. Your will can also include instructions for property distributions and the reasoning behind your decisions, both of which can help in the event of a dispute or a question raised to the court.

Most importantly, dying without a will in place means that state laws automatically determine who inherits your property. Individuals who die without a will, which is referred to as dying “intestate”, are forced to distribute property evenly among the first-available class of beneficiaries. 

If you have surviving children but no spouse, for example, then your children automatically divide your estate as evenly as possible according to New Mexico’s intestate succession laws (N.M. Stat. §§ 45-2-102; 45-2-103). This arrangement can cause problems, such as forcing your family to sell your house and other cherished property, leaving only cash for them to split evenly.

Drafting a will with the help of our Clovis estate planning law firm ensures that your property will be given to all of your loved ones in a thoughtful, appropriate way. Not only that, but it also gives your family certainty and the chance to understand your reasoning, giving a sense of closure during a delicate time in their lives.

What Is Probate? How Does It Affect My Estate?

Probate is the name for the legal process required for reviewing your estate. During probate, your personal representative (AKA your executor) fields claims that pre-empt your will and handles other vital details before distributing the estate to your heirs.

The entire probate process can take around four to six months for simple estates that don’t have will contests or complicated questions to clear up. For estates with competing claims, disputes, or major legal questions, the process can drag on for months or even years. 

Hiring a probate lawyer in Clovis can help your personal representative understand their best options, handle will contests, and expedite the overall process. The costs of representation come out of the estate, however, so it is in your best interests and the interests of your heirs to try to avoid major problems that can delay probate and add to the costs of probate services.

How Can I Help My Estate Avoid Probate (or Get Through It More Easily)?

Transfers handled outside of your will skip probate, reducing the size of your estate. Suppose the total value of your probated estate is $50,000 or less and it doesn’t include any real estate. In that case, your personal representative may be able to take advantage of New Mexico’s informal probate process.

Methods of transferring assets outside of using wills include:

• Living Trusts — Assets held in a trust before the death of the estate holder count as existing outside of their estate, skipping probate. As an added benefit, a trustee can automatically take over management of the trust’s assets and distribute property to heirs on a much quicker timeline compared to probate.
• Transfer-upon-death titles — These can automatically transfer ownership of a home, vehicle, or other piece of property after the death of the original owner.
• Community property — New Mexico is a community property state, so any property jointly owned by a couple automatically goes to the surviving spouse.
• Payable-on-death, transfer-on-death, and death beneficiary accounts — Accounts with beneficiary designations automatically pay out after the death of the account holder. Account owners can also arrange for their bank accounts and other major accounts to transfer (or pay out) upon their death.
• Joint tenancy with rights of survivorship — Property that is co-owned by two parties can have this type of title, which automatically transfers ownership to the remaining party (or parties) listed on the title.
• Small estate transfers — Estates valued at less than $50,000 can use an affidavit to transfer all property other than real estate.

These methods can be used to minimize the size of your estate while speeding up the timeline for loved ones to receive key parts of your legacy.

Succession Planning for Farms and Businesses in Clovis, NM

Big organizations use succession planning to avoid disruption when key employees retire, die, or otherwise leave the organization. This same type of planning is critical for small and family-owned businesses, too.

Clovis is surrounded by acres and acres of productive farmland. These operations have given families prosperity, which many have been able to pass down for multiple generations.

Passing on a farm or other closely held business is not a simple process, however. Families with significant business holdings should consult with a Clovis estate planning law firm for assistance with succession planning, business continuity strategies, and other contingency plans. 

The process for transferring ownership of a business after the death of its primary owner (or a major partner) should be included in the company’s documentation. If the transfer is located only in a will, there could be problems trying to transfer the business to a family member or another party. 

Two-thirds of family businesses do not have a well-documented succession plan in place, according to a survey by Price Waterhouse Coopers. If the sole or primary owner dies unexpectedly, there is a strong chance, in the worst cases, that legal issues could force the sale or liquidation of the business. 

Protect your business by including succession planning as part of your estate plans. In addition to documenting your plan for transferring ownership after your death, you can include provisions to help your successor pay off debts, address possible disputes, and smoothly transition the business so that it can remain focused on what it does best.

Forming a Trust With the Help of a Clovis Estate Planning Lawyer

Trusts are a special legal arrangement — one that technically takes property out of your ownership if the trust is created while you are still alive. Even if the trust is created after your death, though (a “testamentary trust”), then it can still offer benefits to your loved ones and any charitable causes you support.

Some of the most important ways a trust can help complete your estate plan include:

• Probate avoidance — As mentioned above, assets transferred through a living trust avoid probate, thereby expediting the transfer process after the original owner’s death.
• Asset protection — Assets placed in a special type of trust can be shielded from most creditor claims that arise after the trust was formed. This type of trust can help your family protect key assets not just after your life but also towards the end of your life, when many individuals could encounter scams, high healthcare costs, and possible estate recovery measures after receiving Medicaid long-term care benefits.
• Charitable giving — Special types of irrevocable trusts can reduce the amount of taxable income counted on your tax returns, and they can also help your family avoid estate taxes in some cases.
• Blended family inheritances — It can be challenging to reserve certain assets for family members if a surviving spouse remarries. Methods like bypass trusts and marital trusts can preserve assets while allowing a surviving spouse to draw income or take distributions for critical expenses.
• Protecting young heirs — Minor children and very young adults may face challenges if they inherit a business or substantial amounts of cash all at once. A trust can control the cadence of distributions and even require your beneficiaries to meet specific requirements, such as graduating from college or not selling the family business, before they receive their distribution.

Speak to a Clovis estate planning attorney to learn more about your options for forming a trust. They’ll help you choose the best strategy for your finances and the future you want to leave behind.

Feel Confident About the Future With the Help of Our Clovis Estate Planning Law Firm

Working with a Clovis estate planning lawyer gives you the knowledge, experience, and resources you need to make wise decisions about the future. New Mexico Financial & Estate Planning Attorneys can help you build a complete estate plan, one that considers all of your goals and strives to achieve them strategically.

You can start the process with a review of your current estate plans and any major assets you own. You can then learn about all of the options available with the help of our New Mexico estate planning law firm and decide on the set of plans that makes the most sense for the future you want to make happen. Just like the arrowheads that get their name from the fine city of Clovis, you can build something that will endure for generations to come.

Take the leap, and start planning for the world you want to leave behind today. Book an appointment with an estate planning law firm in New Mexico that puts clients first when you call us at (505) 503-1637 or contact us online.