Gallup Estate Planning Lawyer

We work hard all of our lives, and our estate is what we have to show for it. Protecting the future of that estate is vital for those who come after you. Working with a Gallup estate planning lawyer can provide you with strategies that help. It’s the same courtesy our ancestors tried to pay us, leaving anything they could so that we could have a surer footing in the world.

If you want to protect your legacy for the benefit of future generations, estate planning is the way to do it. Forming strategies with the help of a Gallup estate planning lawyer means having experienced guidance and the ability to know the optimal choices available. When it comes time to settle your final affairs, your loved ones can build on the work you already put in. They can also know what’s right by you, according to your own terms spelled out in your will and other documents. 

Estate planning can have benefits for you in life, too, especially if you end up incapacitated in a medical emergency. Suppose you would prefer to have certain types of treatments or want certain people consulted before a decision is made. In that case, an advance healthcare directive can document these wishes and make them legally binding.

Get everything you need to feel at peace about the future when you put together an estate plan with the help of our experienced Gallup attorneys. You can schedule a confidential, no-obligation appointment to discuss your options with our Gallup estate planning law firm. Book your appointment and start planning for the world you want to create in this life and the next by calling our law offices at (505) 503-1637 or contacting us online.

What All Can Estate Planning in Gallup Involve?

Your estate plan can be made up of many things. Your will is the most important part, but other documents and plans you make can all supply critical pieces of the puzzle.

An estate plan can contain any (or even all) of the following:

• Last will and testament — Better known as a “will,” this document gives your chosen estate representative the legal power to distribute your property the way you see fit. Dying without a will means your estate is “intestate,” and state laws then decide who receives your property.

• Advance healthcare directive — This set of documents gives your family (or other loved ones) everything they need to manage your care according to your wishes when you cannot communicate with them yourself. It includes a durable power of attorney for healthcare, instructions for care (also known as a “living will”), and the name of the physician you want consulted to determine if you are legally incapacitated.

• Durable financial power of attorney — This document gives someone (known as your “agent”) the ability to conduct financial transactions in your place when you have been incapacitated. Loved ones need to have this power in case you are seriously sick or unconscious and need someone to access funds for yourself or your family.

• Probate planning — You can simplify the management of your estate using asset transfer methods that don’t require going through probate. Standard methods include payable-on-death/transfer-on-death bank accounts, beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance policies, property titled under joint tenancy with rights of survivorship (JTWROS), and property transferred to a living trust.

• Digital asset planning — Practically everyone has digital assets these days. These can include valuable assets, like cryptocurrency, but they can also be social media accounts, digital photos, and subscription-based services. Your estate plan can consist of a list of logins for all of these, along with instructions on how you’d like them managed after you pass on.

• Guardianship documents — If you have minor children or other dependents, including disabled adults, you can prepare for someone else to take over their care after your death or permanent incapacitation using guardianship planning.

• Debt and estate tax planning — Most estates will not pay estate taxes, but your personal representative is responsible for paying your final year of income taxes. They must also settle any debts left over from your lifetime using the estate’s funds before they can transfer property to your heirs. By taking steps to pay down some debt and simplify the rest, using strategies like consolidation, you can make your estate more straightforward to manage.

Why Having a Gallup Estate Planning Attorney Can Help

Every estate is unique. The assets you own and the loved ones you leave everything to all fit together to form a one-of-a-kind picture. There are also the values you want to uphold, including how you want your remains to be handled or what types of care you would want if you are in a terminal medical state.

For some people, it may sound easy to plan for situations like these using strategies like template wills. But the reality is that the laws can be complicated — and your unique situation even more so. Without the advice of an experienced legal professional, you may unwittingly make mistakes or create serious issues that could affect your estate plan.

By working with a Gallup estate planning lawyer, you can lay out your specific goals about your family, finances, and other unique life factors. Your attorney can help you put together a custom will, for example, that accounts for situations like the death of a primary heir. They can also help you carefully put your preferences for medical care into words so that your agent can know precisely what to do when you have been medically incapacitated.

With decades of collective experience, the attorneys at our Gallup estate planning law firm are ready to help you avoid common pitfalls. They can help you keep your plans up-to-date, and they can even assist your loved ones in the future with probate, power of attorney, or other complex legal situations.

Remember that glaring flaws in estate plans usually aren’t uncovered until it’s too late. Start the process early, and make sure to update your plans periodically with the help of your Gallup estate planning lawyer.

Using Trusts for Medicaid Planning

One common estate planning strategy that could prove beneficial is the use of a Medicaid asset protection trust. Medicaid can pay for nursing home level-of-care at a facility or in your home, but there’s a cost. After you die, the state will try to recoup the costs of your care using estate recovery. Most often, they will put a lien on the sale of a home owned by the care recipient.

To determine if assets are available for estate recovery, state Medicaid offices will look back over a period of five years. If the patient transferred property at any point during this time, the transfer could be reversed. To work around this, you can talk to a Gallup estate planning lawyer five years or longer before you expect to need nursing care. By forming a Medicaid asset protection trust, you can transfer property out of your name, saving it for future generations.

What Is Probate? How Does It Affect My Estate?

When you have passed on, the person you select for your personal representative (also sometimes called your executor or administrator) is responsible for processing your estate through probate. During probate, your personal representative will contact all of your heirs as well as your creditors. After paying off any outstanding debts and handling other estate administration costs, they can distribute property to your heirs.

Probate can take several months to a year or longer to complete. Estates with competing claims or complicated legal questions could end up taking longer to review. For this reason, many individuals try to leave as little as possible to their loved ones through a will. Instead, they use the methods mentioned in the bulleted section above: living trusts, transfer/payable-on-death designations, beneficiary designations, and jointly titled property.

While forming a living trust may not make sense for everybody, it is a strategy worth considering. As an added benefit, with a trust in place, you already have someone who can act as trustee to manage important accounts and properties in case you become incapacitated. Your trustee can begin transferring property out of the trust to your loved ones before probate has concluded.

To discuss your options for probate planning and to learn about the typical probate services required after someone has passed, reach out to a Gallup estate planning lawyer.

How Can I Make Handling My Estate and Other Affairs Easier on My Loved Ones?

You can use the following strategies with the help of a Gallup estate planning attorney to reduce the chances of surprises or stressful situations when it comes time for your loved ones to act on your estate plans:

• Have a will, and keep it up to date. Your will can act as an important catch-all. You can include language to give any property not mentioned in the will to your surviving spouse or another next-of-kin, for example. Having a will also prevents you from dying intestate, which would otherwise mean that only one person or a few people could inherit anything. Make sure to update your will regularly, especially after a significant event like a property sale, birth of a grandchild, death of an heir, or a move to another state.

• Try to reduce the size of your probated estate using the aforementioned techniques. Transferring property to a living trust can be a beneficial strategy.

• Talk to your intended personal representative, and have a few backups. Notify the person you would like to serve as your personal representative, and ask them if they are up for the job. You should also select a few other people who can step in, just in case your first choice changes their mind, dies, or is otherwise unable to serve.

• Talk to your loved ones about your other plans. You don’t need to go into specifics, but they must understand your general plans for inheritances. You can also explain your wishes for medical care in a situation where you’re incapacitated, including scenarios where there is little hope of recovery. Have conversations with the person who will have power of attorney, and make it clear what choices you want them to follow versus what they would have the ability to decide on their own.

• Put all of your important documents in one place. Have your signed, dated, and witnessed copy of your will in a safe place. Include a list of where other majorly important documents can be found, such as the titles to homes and vehicles, copies of your insurance policies (home, car, and medical), a copy of your advance healthcare directive, and a general set of instructions outlining your estate plan.

• Verify your stake in jointly-owned assets. Even after careful legacy planning, complications and legal questions tend to arise around property that is jointly held. For example, you may own a business or piece of property with your sibling, but you want to transfer your share to your children when you die. These arrangements can easily result in confusion or disputes, so reach out to a Gallup estate planning law firm to sort through them and get help with planning ahead.

Work With a Dedicated and Compassionate Gallup Estate Planning Law Firm

You and your loved ones can expect top-tier service when you come to New Mexico Financial & Estate Planning Attorneys. A Gallup estate planning attorney from our firm can listen closely to the details of your plan, along with your goals for the future. They can then set you up with a one-of-a-kind strategy. This strategy ensures that you can leave behind something that will make the world a better place for the people you care about most.

From creating a will to building your advance healthcare directive, a Gallup estate planning attorney can help you take care of important business before your family is caught off guard by a sudden tragedy.

It’s never too early to start, so call our New Mexico estate planning law firm today at (505) 503-1637 or contact us online to schedule a confidential, no-obligation appointment with our experienced attorneys.