Las Vegas Estate Planning Lawyer

Las Vegas, New Mexico, is a historic town surrounded by rich history and natural splendors. The families that live here understand better than most what it means to leave behind a legacy you can be proud of. That’s why it’s so important to think about estate planning now: by taking steps, you can get the ball rolling on things that will outlast you by multiple generations.

It doesn’t matter how big or small you think your estate will be: estate planning is for everyone. When you create documents like a will and an advance healthcare directive, you protect your interests and record your wishes in a legally binding way. Working with a Las Vegas, NM estate planning lawyer ensures that you can go through all of your options, take the right steps, and use the strategies that work best for your specific goals.

Find out more about what estate planning can do for you — and the people you care about most — when you reach out to New Mexico Financial & Estate Planning Attorneys for assistance. Schedule your confidential appointment to discuss your options for creating or updating an estate plan when you call (505) 503-1637 or contact us online.

When Should I Talk to an Estate Planning Attorney in Las Vegas, New Mexico?

There’s never a bad time to begin estate planning. If you have an estate plan, it’s wise to update it after major life changes or at least once every 3–5 years.

Estate planning becomes particularly important once you realize what’s at stake. That includes keeping your property in the family in the way you would want. It also includes being treated the way you want when you have a serious medical condition and cannot communicate.

The bottom line is that everyone should have an estate plan after they turn 18 (or are emancipated as a minor). That said, most people need an event or realization to get motivated to start the process. Some of the most common reasons people come to our estate planning law firm in Las Vegas, NM include:

• Ensuring that minor children have a guardian named for them and that they can inherit their family’s assets once they turn 18
• Preparing for a possible illness, accident, or unexpected event, especially after the age of 30
• Protecting significant assets, including a home, savings, closely held shares in a business, an inheritance, or land rights
• Asserting their legal right to choose the types of medical treatments they receive when they are unconscious or cannot communicate
• Preparing their loved ones and trusted parties to manage finances, file paperwork, and conduct other business on their behalf when they are unable to manage them themselves
• Reviewing all of their financial, personal, and legal preparations to make sure that their plans work together in a coordinated way
• Gaining emotional and mental security after a health scare or bad experience, such as the death of a loved one
• Creating a trust or another arrangement to protect their assets and reduce their exposure risk to lawsuits, creditor claims, or problems that stem from cognitive decline
• Changing estate plans after a major event, like a divorce or the birth of another child

New Mexico Financial & Estate Planning Attorneys can assist you at any stage in your life, regardless of how much you own or how big your family is. After all, it can never be too early to start estate planning …but it can sometimes be too late.

What Should I Include in My Las Vegas, NM Estate Plan?

An estate plan can include many different types of documents, such as:

• Last will and testament — A will records your choice of personal representative (AKA your executor), who you want to serve as guardian for your children (or dependent adults), and how you want your property distributed to your heirs.
• Advance healthcare directive — This set of documents names someone to speak for you when you are incapacitated (your healthcare agent), declares your preferences for treatment (AKA, a “living will”), and names the doctor you want consulted to officially determine that you are incapacitated.
• Durable financial power of attorney — This document gives someone (known as your agent) the ability to access accounts and perform transactions on your behalf, according to the rules and instructions you create.
• Trust formation — A trust can be created during your life (a living trust) or after your death (a testamentary trust) to secure property, have it managed by a trustee, and distribute it to your beneficiaries.
• Account and policy beneficiaries — Retirement accounts, investment accounts, pension, benefits programs, and insurance policies can all have a survivor beneficiary listed.
• Joint tenancy with rights of survivorship (JTWROS) titles — These types of property deeds automatically transfer to a co-owner after your death.
• Digital asset planning — You may want to record a list of your important digital accounts, along with the logins, in a document that’s separate from your will. This document can also declare what you want to happen to your social media accounts, digital files, and other digital property.
• Letter to loved ones — This document, which is also separate from your will, can act as a farewell while also explaining your estate plan and your preferences for handling your remains.

Making a will should be considered the bare minimum for an estate plan, even for people with minimal assets or those with a plan to avoid probate.

Since any one of us could get in an accident or otherwise lose our ability to take care of ourselves, it also makes sense to go through incapacity planning. That means creating a financial power of attorney and an advance healthcare directive.

The other parts of your estate plan are up to you. A Las Vegas, NM estate planning lawyer can help you review all of your options, understand them, and pick the right set of estate plans to make your goals become reality.

Steps to Creating a Will in Las Vegas, New Mexico

A will is the most important document in the majority of estate plans. Accordingly, it makes the most sense to start thinking about what you want to put in your will as you begin the estate planning process.

The typical steps you might follow include:

1. Account for all of your assets and debts
2. Create a family (or heir) chart
3. Consider your options for avoiding probate
4. Decide who receives what
5. Create a will with the help of a Las Vegas attorney
6. Review your will alongside other estate plans
7. Sign and witness your document
8. Keep your will in a safe place
9. Update your will periodically

Without a will, your estate is going to be handed down to your closest kin through a process known as “intestate succession.” These transfers are made according to state laws, which means that you have no legal say in who gets what. Your heirs may also be left in a state of confusion or chaos, especially if a precious asset like a home or heirloom is expected to be divided evenly amongst them.

A Las Vegas estate planning attorney can help you avoid this situation by going through the steps of creating a will the right way. They can also help you determine what not to include in your will, such as property that is going to be transferred through a beneficiary designation or trust.

Once you have your will completed, it’s important to keep it up-to-date. Times to update your will include after:

• The sale or purchase of a home
• A divorce or marriage
• The birth of a child or grandchild
• Your retirement
• The onset of a serious disease or condition
• Any other big changes to your asset portfolio, your finances, or your family situation

Why Should I Go Through Incapacity Planning?

“Incapacity” means that you have lost the mental ability to make decisions for yourself. This can happen because:

• You have been seriously hurt and are in a coma or have lost critical mental functions
• You are seriously ill and are too weak to communicate or fully understand what’s going on
• You are put under anesthesia for surgery or a procedure
• You have developed a degenerative brain condition, such as the onset of dementia
• You are missing for an extended period

In these situations, you won’t be able to handle your own finances, make medical decisions, or speak up to tell anyone about your care preferences.

To ensure that you and your loved ones can be cared for the way you would want, two documents are recommended:

• An advance healthcare directive
• A durable financial power of attorney

Advance healthcare directive

This set of documents includes:

• Healthcare power of attorney — This document names someone as your official agent, who can make care decisions on your behalf, such as what treatments to use, whether to try a risky surgery, or whether to prolong your life in the hopes that you might recover. This agent can also review your relevant health information, such as testing results.
• Instructions for care — These instructions can guide and limit your healthcare agent. They also serve as an official record of your care preferences to guide your medical provider teams. You can get as specific as you want, leave certain decisions up to your agent, or a mixture of both.
• Primary physician designation — Gives you the opportunity to name your preferred doctor, who has to be consulted before the rest of your directive activates.

Advance healthcare directives are important because they give someone permission to make decisions for you. While your spouse or children might be able to do this without a power of attorney, in some cases, they may also need to be appointed as your guardian by a court — especially when loved ones disagree.

Just as importantly, your directive tells your care teams, agent, and loved ones about the types of care you would want to receive when you are very sick and have very low chances of recovering. Your instructions can tell them that you wouldn’t want to be put on a feeding tube, for example. Or, you can tell them to use any means available to try to prolong your life.

Instructions like these can protect your dignity and ensure that you receive care that aligns with your values, beliefs, and desires.

Durable financial power of attorney

Families can get “locked out” of your finances during a prolonged medical emergency. Or, in some cases, they may get worried about your ability to continue handling everything on your own, especially as you lose mental capacity.

Giving someone financial power of attorney means that you have someone who can have your back when you need it most. Depending on the permissions you give them, they will be able to access your accounts, buy and sell property, adjust your retirement accounts, and take other needed steps to keep your finances in order.

It’s important to only give power of attorney to someone you trust. A Las Vegas estate planning attorney can help you select an appropriate agent, give them the restrictions and permissions you would want, and take steps to reduce risks from all sides of the equation.

Other Estate Planning Tasks to Take Care Of

Your estate plan can include measures to reduce the amount of property that has to go through probate before reaching your heirs. You may also want to build strategies to manage debts, pay off taxes, and make life easier for your personal representative and your heirs, overall.

Your strategy might also include creating a trust. These can be used to bypass probate, protect assets, or set money aside for an heir who hasn’t turned 18 yet. The type of trust you create, and the rules you set for it, would all depend on your goals — and the benefits you want to obtain.

Talk to a New Mexico estate planning lawyer to go over your options for estate planning and select the best tactics for your unique situation. Your attorney will help you not only build a plan that’s the right fit for you, but they will also ensure that all of your plan works together towards a single vision: the protections you want, and the legacy you wish to leave behind.

Get Help From Experienced Las Vegas Estate Planning Attorneys

New Mexico Financial & Estate Planning Attorneys are ready to help you get all of your affairs in order. We understand that estate planning can seem complicated and stressful. Our goal is to use our wealth of knowledge and experience to make everything clear, straightforward, and tailored to your unique needs.

Call our offices at (505) 503-1637 or contact us online to schedule a no-obligation consultation and estate plan review today. We’re eager to help you get started so that you — and the people you care about most — can rest more easily.