The historic town of Bernalillo is known for its fine vintage wines and awe-inspiring landmarks. The legacies of the Tiwa People and Spanish explorers can still be seen centuries — or millennia — later. These histories can inspire families living in the area to work on their estate plan and craft a legacy of their own.
Estate planning prepares you and your loved ones for a future where nearly anything could happen. With a will, advance healthcare directive, and power of attorney in place, you can know with confidence that your family has the resources and information they need to clearly understand and then carry out your wishes.
The marks we want to leave on future generations can define how we live our lives now. By reaching out to a Bernalillo estate planning lawyer, you can take stock of your holdings, consider how you want your loved ones to be provided for and guided after an unfortunate event, and create a strategy to get everyone prepared.
Get started when you call New Mexico Financial & Estate Planning Attorneys at (505) 503-1637 or contact us online, and schedule your confidential, no-obligation consultation today.
Estate planning requires you to make many different decisions and handle many different tasks. The topics that come up straddle the line between the law, finance, banking, real estate, and even human understanding. You’ll need to consider all of these as you go over your options and begin forming your own customized estate plan.
Hiring an estate planning attorney in Bernalillo helps you understand everything that’s needed, including the different strategies that could be available. With this perspective in mind, you can forge a path ahead with a greater degree of control over the eventual outcome. Your careful preparations can someday mean the difference between your family feeling content, rather than stressed and confused, during a procedure like probate.
When you come to New Mexico Financial & Estate Planning Attorneys, our experienced team can help you with all of the following obligations:
Our New Mexico estate planning attorneys always listen closely to your goals and the unique characteristics of your situation. We can then help you form a personalized estate plan that accounts for possible challenges and prepares for the widest possible range of scenarios. This preparation can give you and your loved ones confidence knowing that, even if the worst should happen, every parameter has already been carefully considered.
No two estate plans will look exactly alike. That’s because everyone’s family, financial, and legal situation is different. Your plan should be customized accordingly.
You may also prefer to use certain strategies that appeal to you, especially if they promise a higher chance of achieving your unique goals.
The possible components of your complete estate plan can include any of the following:
Creating a will is highly recommended by Bernalillo estate planning law firms in nearly all circumstances. Even if you have other plans in place to handle your estate, such as a revocable living trust, your will acts as both a failsafe and a guiding document to your surviving loved ones.
More importantly, creating a will is the only way to legally designate an executor (known in New Mexico law as a personal representative), and it’s the easiest way to handle guardianship designations in case you die with young children or an adult with disabilities in your care.
Most crucially, a will can ensure that property is transferred according to your wishes, especially as a contingency measure in the event that other transfer methods don’t pan out as expected.
Intestate succession laws in Bernalillo (and the rest of the) state determine what happens if you die without a valid, properly executed will (NM Stat § 45-2-101). These laws force your surviving loved ones to transfer all estate property to just a few family members. They also require your heirs to split assets evenly among them, which often forces them to sell beloved properties and other belongings.
A properly executed will lets you pick which heirs receive what property, with as much specific detail as you want to put in. It can also act as a backup if methods like a trust or joint tenancy with rights of survivorship (JTWROS) titles encounter challenges.
In short, creating a will gives you and your chosen personal representative more control over your estate. It also prevents a situation where state laws choose who inherits, rather than you. This work can collectively ensure that your loved ones are honored and cared for in the way you’d hoped after your passing.
Many types of assets and accounts can go to your intended heir without having to be included in your will or enter probate. Common methods include:
For certain estates, these methods may be enough to transfer the bulk of owned property. The estate may then qualify for a simplified probate, negating the need for certain paperwork and procedures.
If your goal is to reduce the burden of probate as much as possible, speak with a New Mexico probate lawyer to determine the best strategies available for your specific situation.
An advance healthcare directive contains three main components:
Put together, these documents give you someone (known as your agent) who can speak up for the care decisions you would want while you are incapacitated (meaning you are medically unable to communicate). Your agent will be guided by your instructions for care that you leave them, which are legally binding.
Your directive also lists your choice of doctor. This designated doctor must be consulted to determine whether you have been incapacitated before the rest of your directive activates.
Durable financial power of attorney acts similarly to a medical power of attorney, except it gives your agent permission to handle your finances after you have been incapacitated. For example, they may be able to access your accounts, withdraw funds, trade stocks and bonds, or step in to help manage a business. They may even be able to buy or sell real estate, depending on the powers you grant them.
You have the ability to be as specific or broad as you want when you create your durable financial power of attorney as part of your Bernalillo estate plan. The permissions you give and restrictions you set will depend on the situations you want to prepare for. An attorney can help you address your primary concerns and determine your comfort level, helping guide the powers, instructions, and restrictions you give your agent.
Trusts are a third-party legal entity that can own property, similar to an LLC. These arrangements can be helpful in two main situations:
Your estate plan may not require a trust. It may also benefit from a simple trust arrangement, like a revocable living trust or a testamentary trust for minors. Talk to your Bernalillo estate planning lawyer to learn more about the types of trusts you may want to consider and how they could help you accomplish your unique goals.
Your estate’s personal representative is responsible for paying off any debts you have, including your last year’s income taxes and any estate taxes you may owe.
Preparing for these expenses can mean setting aside cash or possibly using a trust to reduce the estate’s exposure to creditor claims. Failing to prepare, on the other hand, can mean that money or property promised to your heirs instead goes towards debts.
You can work with your Bernalillo estate planning attorney and an accountant to anticipate the debts your estate may owe and form strategies to address them, reducing the burden put upon your loved ones and executor after your death.
Digital assets include:
Creating a list of these assets makes your loved ones aware of their existence, and it can also instruct them on how you would like those assets handled after your death. For example, you may want all of your social media and other online content deleted. You may also want certain files, such as photos, copied and shared with the family.
Take the time to inventory all of these assets (you’ll be surprised at how much there can be!), and then give your loved ones directions for managing them. Even something as simple as “use or delete them, based on whatever you would want to do” can be helpful information to share.
Funeral and burial instructions left in a will are not legally binding. Accordingly, it may make more sense to record these wishes in a separate document.
State your wishes for how you would like to be memorialized and have your remains handled in as clear of terms as possible. Make your personal representative and other loved ones aware of these requests, and try to discuss your plans when you get the opportunity to do so.
If you have arrangements already made, such as a deposit on a burial plot, make sure that the receipts, contract, and other related documents are included in a packet that can be found by your executor after your death.
At New Mexico Financial & Estate Planning Attorneys, we are ready to help you tackle the tasks needed to create a complete estate plan. The earlier you get started, the easier it will be to take care of everything. You can then feel more at ease knowing that all the proper preparations are in place.
An attorney can meet with you to discuss your options, review any documents you already have, and provide recommendations based on the outcomes you want to see. Our number one goal is to help you achieve peace of mind. You can know with confidence that your loved ones will be cared for and have detailed instructions available, no matter what happens.
Find out more about what your personalized estate plan could look like, and take the first steps by talking to attorneys in Bernalillo who care. Call our firm at (505) 503-1637 or contact us online to schedule a confidential, no-obligation consultation and estate plan review today.
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