Deming Estate Planning Lawyer

Deming is a town steeped in history. Former native tribe lands surround the town. It was also the site of a major railway project in the late 19th century. Residents of this humble town continue to build a legacy of hard work and pride in their family roots. The best way to protect that legacy is through estate planning. By creating an up-to-date will, along with other key documents like an advance healthcare directive, with the help of a Deming estate planning lawyer, families can know that they are prepared for nearly anything the future brings.

Reach out to a Deming estate planning attorney to learn more about the strategies that can protect your family in case of an emergency. Schedule a confidential, no-risk appointment with an experienced attorney at our Deming estate planning law firm when you call (505) 503-1637 or contact us online.

Deming Estate Planning Attorney Services

Our New Mexico Estate Planning law firm provides a wide range of helpful services to plan for the future. Some of the most essential estate planning matters we assist with include:

• Creating a last will and testament — This document legally transfers property to your loved ones after you die. Having a will prevents a situation where state laws make these decisions for you, which is known as dying “intestate.”

• Setting up accounts and policies with beneficiaries — For many families, most of their assets are held in major accounts, including bank accounts, retirement accounts (such as their 401(k) and IRAs), and investment accounts. They may also have life insurance policies. You can transfer the full value of all of these things without needing to include them in your will (although they can be mentioned as confirmation). All you have to do is make sure you have someone listed as a beneficiary, a transfer-on-death recipient, or a payable-on-death recipient.

• Preparing your estate for your death — A Deming estate planning lawyer can help you make an inventory of your assets and your debts. This information allows you to set aside money for estate tax planning, for example, while making life easier for your estate’s personal representative (AKA, your executor).

• Giving someone power of attorney — When you give someone power of attorney, they get permission to do things that only you would typically be able to do. Financial power of attorney lets them access your accounts to pay bills, make transfers, or complete other essential tasks. Power of attorney for healthcare gives them the ability to make care decisions for you, usually while you are unconscious and unable to make those choices for yourself.

• Writing instructions for care (AKA a “living will”) — What kinds of care would you want if you happened to slip into a coma or were unable to communicate for some medical reason? A living will tells your doctors, your loved ones, and your healthcare agent (the person with power of attorney) whether you’d want life-saving measures like a breathing machine or feeding tube if you were knocked unconscious with little hope of recovering.

• Completing your advance healthcare directive — A complete directive includes a durable power of attorney for healthcare, instructions for care, and the name of your primary care doctor whom you want to be consulted to decide if you are incapacitated (i.e., unconscious) before the rest of your directive is activated.

• Starting a trust — Some families may want to consider starting a trust, especially if they own a business, have a lot of land, or have other complex estate issues. Starting a living trust helps your assets skip probate (more on that later) while making it easier to manage or transfer them if you are no longer able to do so yourself. There are also irrevocable trusts that can help you qualify for Medicaid long-term care, protect your assets from creditors, or accomplish other big goals.

How a Deming Estate Planning Lawyer Helps You Prepare for the Future

Estate planning may seem like something you could try doing on your own, but a lot is riding on the outcome. Problems with your will, for example, could prevent your loved ones from inheriting your property like you expected. Issues with a power of attorney can keep your trusted agent from accessing your bank account, which can put your family in a risky financial situation while you are unconscious.

Working with a Deming estate planning attorney helps you think about these issues and prepare ways to avoid them. New Mexico Financial & Estate Planning Attorneys can review your will or other estate planning documents to spot errors or anything that’s out of date. We’ll start by listening closely while you explain your family situation, describe your assets in general, and talk about your goals for the future. With our help, you can then use all of this detailed information to build a one-of-a-kind estate plan that’s personalized to your family and your goals.

On top of creating an up-to-date will, you can prepare powers of attorney documents and other parts of your advance healthcare directive. Since every person has a unique set of values and expectations for what they would want in a serious medical situation, it helps to have an experienced legal professional who can go through your options and write down what you’d want in a clear, legally enforceable way.

Don’t let your family get caught by surprise when you unexpectedly have a medical emergency — or, worse, pass on. Prepare all of the things you need to help them during a difficult time by starting on your estate plans now, with the help of a reputable Deming estate planning law firm.

What Does Power of Attorney Do?

A power of attorney is a legal document that gives someone the right to act in your place in specific situations. The person granting the power is called the “principal,” and the person receiving powers is known as their “agent”  (sometimes also called a proxy or attorney-in-fact).

There are two main types of power of attorney: medical (AKA, a power of attorney for healthcare) and financial. A principal can give powers to someone for either one separately or both at the same time. It is common, for example, to provide a spouse power of attorney for both health care and financial transactions.

Powers of attorney are most useful in a situation where you are medically incapacitated, which can happen after an accident, a major health event, or as part of a surgery. By giving someone your financial power of attorney, they can make sure that your bills are paid and that any other vital affairs are taken care of. Giving them power of attorney for healthcare gives them the legal authority to make decisions about your care.

For your power of attorney to last even after you are incapacitated, it has to be “durable.” You can also limit your agent’s power to only apply in situations where you are incapacitated (as opposed to having the power all the time) by creating a “springing” power of attorney.

Reach out to a Deming estate planning lawyer for more information and guidance on how to structure your power of attorney. We’ll put your priorities first and make it easier for loved ones to respond in an emergency.

What Is Probate? How Might It Affect My Family After My Death?

When you die, everything you owned in your name becomes part of your “estate.” Probate gives authority to the person you appoint to manage your estate. This person is also known as your personal representative, executor, or administrator. With this authority, they can handle your final affairs and then transfer property to your chosen heirs.

During probate, creditors and other people, companies, or groups will have the chance to make a claim on your estate. People also have the opportunity to challenge your will, in part or in full. Your personal representative is responsible for paying off all debts, settling responsibilities such as your last year’s taxes, and engaging with other legal matters. Only after they deal with all of this can they finally transfer your property to the people you chose to receive it.

The entire probate administration process takes at least a few months, and it can drag on longer for families with complicated estates. If there’s a dispute or big questions about the estate, which may include what might be owed to creditors or a supposed heir, the process can drag on for even longer.

Assets can’t go to heirs until probate is closed, so any delays mean that the estate stays open. Heirs are then left waiting to receive their distributions.

How Much Does Probate Cost in Deming, NM?

It costs $30 to apply to start probate. There is also a fee to record a death certificate of $25. These costs can be paid out of the value of the estate, and they can be waived if the person filing is impoverished and unable to pay.

During the probate process, the personal representative may encounter additional costs. They may need to print or photocopy documents, for example, or pay to post notice of probate to possible creditors. They will also need to contact all known heirs and creditors, which can incur postage costs.

If any complicated legal questions come up, the personal representative may need to hire a probate lawyer in Deming. Although the costs of legal services can be paid out of the estate, the result is that the money intended for heirs may end up being needlessly spent. Given this risk, and the potential for probate to take 9-12 months or longer in some cases, planning ahead to simplify probate management is advisable.

How Can I Avoid or Simplify Probate Through Estate Planning?

Only some of the things you own have to go through probate. If your property falls into any of the categories below, it can be transferred without going through probate first:

• Accounts with a named beneficiary, payable-on-death, or transfer-on-death designation
• Life insurance proceeds for policies with a named beneficiary
• Property titled as joint tenancy with right of survivorship (JTWROS)
• Assets put into living trusts (revocable or irrevocable)

Assets for a non-probated estate valued at less than $50,000, total, can be transferred using a simple affidavit, as well.

If you want to make life easier for your loved ones by speeding up and simplifying probate, you can put most of your property into a trust while you are still alive. The other significant parts of your estate can be handled through account transfers and co-ownership titles. Anything remaining might fall under the $50,000 threshold, meaning your estate could skip probate entirely, with the proper planning.

Discuss your goals with a Deming estate planning lawyer to learn more about your options and the best strategies that can help your loved ones after your death.

What Is a Trust? How Does It Help With Asset Protection Planning?

Trusts are a legal arrangement that gives ownership of your property to the trust itself. You name a trustee who is in charge of managing it, along with the people you choose as your beneficiaries who will receive payments (or other types of distributions) from the trust.

Depending on the type of trust, you can still have access to the property in it while you are alive. You can also name yourself as trustee or co-trustee, giving you the power to change or revoke the trust at any time.

However, you may want to consider starting an irrevocable trust if asset protection is your goal. With an irrevocable trust, you (usually) cannot name yourself as trustee. You also can’t close the trust at any time, meaning that the property can only come back to you if you list yourself as a beneficiary.

Irrevocable trusts are often used for Medicaid planning. Medicaid’s long-term care benefits can pay for nursing home care and other more expensive types of care, but there’s a catch: the state is allowed to put a claim on your estate, using what’s known as estate recovery.

Starting a Medicaid trust can give you the chance to take property out of your ownership and leave it to your heirs. Since Medicaid looks at the last five years of property transfers before your benefits start, you have to use this strategy well before you might need nursing home care. 

Talk to a Deming estate planning attorney to find out more about Medicaid planning and other ways that a trust can help simplify things for you and your family.

Schedule Your Appointment With a Deming Estate Planning Law Firm That Cares

New Mexico Financial & Estate Planning Attorneys always puts our clients and their families first. We understand how stressful it can be to deal with estate planning, but the cold truth is that life usually gets even more stressful for families that skip it. Without a will, state laws control who gets your property. Any problems with an advance directive or a trust could mean that your family needs to hire a lawyer to resolve the issues.

Get the hard stuff out of the way by scheduling an appointment with an experienced Deming estate planning law firm. Our attorneys are ready to listen when you call (505) 503-1637 or contact us online to schedule your confidential, risk-free appointment.