Rio Rancho has a thriving economy, with many hardworking households that have saved up for decades. These assets are diligently put away not just for retirement, but also for the benefit of future generations. Estate planning ensures that these hard-earned assets — and your family’s well-being — can be protected in the event of an unexpected emergency. By reaching out to a Rio Rancho estate planning lawyer, you can be prepared for nearly anything that the future may hold.
A well-rounded estate plan includes a will, an advance healthcare directive, and other forms of asset planning. It may also include a trust, especially if your goals include avoiding probate or qualifying for Medicaid long-term care someday.
Call New Mexico Financial Law to schedule a no-obligation appointment with an experienced Rio Rancho estate planning attorney. They can listen closely as you describe your situation and your goals for the future. They can then recommend a range of estate planning options that promise the perfect fit for the objectives you want to achieve.
Book a confidential, no-obligation consultation with our estate planning law firm in Rio Rancho when you call us at (505) 503-1637 or contact us online.
An estate plan can include any of the following:
Read on to learn more about how each one works and how, together, they can form a complete estate plan.
One of the biggest concerns after your death is probate. While many estates can go through probate without too many delays or expenses, others can get caught up in lengthy battles with creditors or will contestants.
Probate avoidance strategies to discuss with your Rio Rancho estate planning lawyer can include creating a living trust and using transfer-on-death accounts to transfer the majority of property to your loved ones outside of probate.
It can also help your family greatly to do the following:
There may be other important tasks to take care of that relate to your unique family and financial situation. Be sure to discuss the scenarios you want to plan for, including which ones you would like to avoid, with your Rio Rancho estate planning lawyer. They can help you come up with strategies and ways to fulfill your goals and minimize the burden on your family during a difficult time in their lives.
A will is the only legally recognized way for you to determine who inherits your property after you die.
Without a will, your estate is intestate, meaning that New Mexico laws (NM Stat §§ 45-2-102; 45-2-103) determine who inherits your property. The court appoints someone to serve as an administrator of your intestate estate, and your administrator is forced to distribute assets only to your immediate next-of-kin.
In addition, whichever class of relative inherits your assets has to split them evenly. So if ¾ of your separate property goes to your children, then the law requires that each child inherit an equal value of property. While this might sound like something you would have arranged for yourself, the reality is that real estate and other valuable property often have to be sold off for the estate distribution to comply with the law.
Put succinctly, drafting a will gives you infinitely more control over how your property is distributed after you die. It also gives you the opportunity to split your property among more relatives and other loved ones than what intestate succession would allow. So if your goal is to have any control over how your property is handled, consider creating a will right away if you have not already done so.
A Rio Rancho will lawyer can assist you with the process, helping you avoid common mistakes while using the best strategies that conform to your goals. Your attorney can also assist you with nominating someone to handle your estate (known as a personal representative or executor) and designating guardians for any children or other dependents.
Your advance healthcare directive is a set of documents that gives you control over your healthcare decisions when you have become incapacitated. Incapacitated can mean unconscious, sedated, or in a mental state where you are unable to coherently communicate and understand what is happening.
As part of creating an advance healthcare directive, you will nominate someone to serve as your healthcare agent using a durable power of attorney. You can also provide instructions for your care, specifying the types of treatments you would want, which ones you would refuse, and your preferences for a care provider.
Finally, your directive can nominate a physician who should be consulted before a determination of incapacity is made. The rest of your directive can only come into effect after two qualified providers — including one of your choosing — make this determination.
Having an advanced healthcare directive prevents a situation where your family has trouble determining what types of care you would consent to. Worse, they may even be unable to consent without obtaining a court order of guardianship.
The guardianship process involves filing a petition and holding court hearings, all of which can introduce lengthy delays as well as significant expenses. A power of attorney, on the other hand, becomes effective the moment it is signed or immediately upon the passing of a condition described by the principal party (which is often their incapacity).
Planning for the creation of an advance healthcare directive involves serious considerations, though, including the types of life-saving and life-prolonging measures you would want after a major medical event. You can go over the most important factors to create a directive that accurately reflects your wishes and values by working with an experienced estate planning law firm in Rio Rancho.
Financial power of attorney gives a person you choose (known as your agent) the ability to access your financial accounts, conduct transactions, interact with government agencies, and handle other important business in your name. If you make the power of attorney durable, your agent is able to perform these activities even when you have become incapacitated.
Why would you give someone all of this power? Because without it, you and your family may suddenly find yourselves in a situation where you are incapacitated and unable to handle critical matters yourself. Your family may be unable to access funds to pay bills, for example, or stay current on your mortgage. If you own a business, your business may suffer because no one has the authority to conduct its affairs on your behalf.
It’s true that giving someone financial power of attorney could pose a risk of them mismanaging or inappropriately using your funds. But the reality is that having everyone shut out from your accounts and unable to handle your business poses an even greater risk. Besides, you should only nominate someone you trust to serve as your agent — someone who cares about you, your family, and your finances.
Discuss financial power of attorney in Rio Rancho with an experienced New Mexico estate planning law firm to get help selecting someone qualified and decide what abilities you want them to have.
A trust is a special arrangement that allows a legal entity to own property. You create the trust by transferring property to it, which has the effect of removing the property from your ownership and, thereby, your estate.
Once in the trust, your former property is managed by a trustee. You also have to name beneficiaries of the trust, who receive property when the trust dissolves. They may also receive distributions from the trust according to rules you set. These rules can allow for distributions at the trustee’s discretion (i.e., whenever they feel it is appropriate) or at regular intervals, such as by providing a monthly annuity.
You are allowed to name yourself as a beneficiary of most trusts, but there are exceptions.
You can name yourself as trustee for a trust you create during your lifetime, and you can also give yourself the power to change or close the trust at any time. This is known as a “revocable living trust.”
Living trusts have the added benefit of removing property from your estate before you die. When you do die, the assets held in the trust can skip probate. Probate is a fairly involved legal process that needs to conclude before estate property can be transferred to heirs. With property placed into a living trust, on the other hand, your trustee can transfer property soon after you die.
Alternatively, you can keep the property in the trust after you die, investing it and allowing it to grow. Your trustee can slowly distribute the trust’s investment income or principal to your chosen beneficiaries over a longer period—potentially across their entire lifetime. Any property left in your estate can also be transferred to the trust using a will that instructs your personal representative to treat the trust as the sole beneficiary of your probated estate. This type of arrangement is referred to as a pour-over will.
Instead of (or in addition to) a living trust, you may want to look into the following types of trusts to complement your estate plan:
There are many other types of trusts than these to consider. Book an appointment with a Rio Rancho trust lawyer to go over your options and decide on the right trust or trusts for your unique situation.
New Mexico Financial Law is an estate planning law firm in Rio Rancho that is ready to assist you in any way we can. We are happy to help you with wills and trusts and other key estate planning matters.
When you take care of your estate plans as soon as possible, you can feel greater comfort knowing that everything is in place in advance of any unfortunate scenario. With the help of an estate planning attorney in Rio Rancho, you can know that your loved ones will have the guidance, preparation, and resources they need to continue thriving.
Get the peace of mind you deserve. Reach out to our estate planning law firm in Rio Rancho and book a confidential, no-obligation consultation and estate plan review. Call (505) 503-1637 or contact us online to book an appointment with a knowledgeable Rio Rancho estate planning attorney today.
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