Estate Planning & Trust Counsel for Families with Young Children
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Keys to Estate Planning for Young Children
Create a Trust
An estate plan for children should include a trust. A trust protects your children in several ways:
- A trust allows you to specify how your assets should be managed for your children.
- You may specify the age at which trust assets should be distributed to chldren.
- A trust reduces waste and loss of assets by your children during the term of the trust.
- A trust allows your family to bypass time-consuming and costly probate proceedings.
Appoint a Trustee
An estate plan allows you to direct your assets to your children under the control of a trustee that you select. The trustee should be someone who is capable of managing your assets in a financially responsible manner.
Without a trustee, your assets must be administered for minor children by a court-appointed "conservator" until they reach the age of 18. The conservator may be a family member, but if they cannot agree, the court may appoint a professional third party. This process can be costly and time-consuming.
Appoint a Guardian
An estate plan for children must include a document to designate a guardian. Without this important document, your family will not be certain who should be appointed to care for your children. If so, they may fight among themselves regarding the best course of action. Any such disputes must be resolved in court. Also, the court may appoint a different person as guardian than you would have selected.
Fund the Trust
A trust is a critical element of estate planning for children. However, the trust must be funded for it to work correctly. "Funding" is the process of adding assets to a trust to avoid probate. We will guide you through each step to properly fund your trust.
Complete Estate Plans for Parents with Young Children
These estate plans include everything you need to protect your children at a simple flat fee.
Basic Estate Plan
for Children
$1,750 for 1 person
$1,950 for 2 persons
What Is It?
Includes everything in the Basic Estate Plan plus a revocable trust to designate a trustee to manage property for young children. Probate is still required to distribute some property upon death.
What's Included?
● Consultation to customize your plan
● Last will & testament
● Revocable trust for support of children
● Instructions and forms to guide the trustee to administer the trust
● Power of attorney
● Healthcare directive
● Appointment of guardian
● Appointment of funeral representative
● Estate planning roadmap
● Witness and notarize documents
● Heavy duty binder for original documents and flash drive for copies
Who's It Designed For?
Designed for anyone who:
● Does not desire to avoid probate
● Has 1 or more young children (or plans to)
● Has relatively simple estate planning needs
● Needs a complete estate plan for young children at a lower cost than our Living Trust Plan
Why You'll Love It
● Lowest cost complete estate plan to manage and protect assets for young children
● Completely customized documents to your specifications
● Designate a trustee to manage property for children until a specified age
● Designate a guardian to care for children until adulthood
● Feel confident that your assets will be handled for children as you direct
● Includes instructions and forms to guide trustees to handle trust property
Basic Estate Plan
for Blended Families
N/A for 1 person
$2,450 for 2 persons
What Is It?
Includes everything in the Basic Estate Plan for Children, plus an additional trust to manage property separately for the children of each parent in a blended family.
What's Included?
● Consultation to customize your plan
● Last will & testament
● A separate revocable trust for the children of each spouse
● All instructions and forms needed by the trustee to administer each trust
● Power of attorney
● Healthcare directive
● Appointment of guardian
● Appointment of funeral representative
● Estate planning roadmap
● Heavy duty binder for original documents and flash drive for copies
Who's It Designed For?
Parents of blended families who:
● Have children from previous relationships
● Do not desire to avoid probate
● Desire to set aside assets (e.g. life insurance or retirement accounts) solely for their children
● Need a complete estate plan for children at a lower cost than our Living Trust Plan for Blended Families
Why You'll Love It
● Lowest cost complete estate plan to manage assets for young children of each parent in a blended family
● Ensures that children will be financially stable without meddling by a former spouse or partner
● Completely customized documents to your specifications
● Designate separate trustees to manage property for children of each parent until a specified age
● Designate separate guardians to care for children of each parent until adulthood
● Feel confident that your assets will be handled for children as you direct
● Includes instructions and forms to guide trustees to handle trust property
Essential
Living Trust Plan
$2,450 for 1 person
$2,750 for 2 persons
What Is It?
A Living Trust Plan uses a revocable "living" trust, along with several other documents, to manage and distribute your assets without probate court administration.
What's Included?
● Consultation to customize your plan
● Revocable ("living") trust
● Certificate of trust existence
● Authorization to disclose medical information
● Warranty deed to transfer real estate to trust
● Assignment of personal property to trust
● Agreement to transfer business assets to trust
● Trust funding instructions
● All documents needed by the trustee to administer the trust (trustee instructions, acceptance of trust, certificate of trust, notice to beneficiaries, and notice to creditors)
● Pour-over will
● Power of attorney
● Healthcare directive
● Appointment of guardian
● Appointment of funeral representative
● Estate planning roadmap
● Heavy duty binder for original documents and flash drive for copies
Who's It Designed For?
Designed for anyone who:
● Desires to avoid probate with maximum control over distribution of assets
● Wants to appoint a person to manage and distribute their estate
● Has minor children, or multiple adult beneficiaries, or relatively complex distribution plans for their property
Why You'll Love It
● Comprehensive estate plan to manage and distribute trust assets to any number of beneficiaries without probate
● Completely customized documents to your specifications
● Provides maximum control over distribution and administration of trust assets
● Designate a trustee to handle estate administration
● Designate a guardian to care for young children
● Feel confident that your assets will be distributed as you direct
● Includes instructions and forms to guide trustees to handle trust property without an attorney
Enhanced Trust Plan
for Blended Families
N/A for 1 person
$3,750 for 2 persons
What Is It?
Includes everything in the Living Trust Plan, plus two (2) additional trusts to manage property separately for the children of each parent in a blended family.
What's Included?
● Consultation to customize your plan
● Joint revocable trust for both parents
● Separate revocable trusts for each parent's children
● Certificate of trust for each trust
● Authorization to disclose medical information
● Warranty deed to fund trust
● Assignment of personal property to trust
● Agreement to transfer business assets to trust
● Trust funding instructions
● All documents needed by the trustee to administer each trust (trustee instructions, acceptance of trust, certificate of trust, notice to beneficiaries, and notice to creditors)
● Pour-over will
● Power of attorney
● Healthcare directive
● Appointment of guardian
● Appointment of funeral representative
● Estate planning roadmap
● Heavy duty binder for original documents and flash drive for copies
Who's It Designed For?
Designed for parents of blended families who:
● Desire to avoid probate
● Have children from previous relationships
● Desire to set aside and manage assets solely for their own children
● Need a complete estate plan to manage property for children
Why You'll Love It
● Comprehensive estate plan to manage and distribute separate trust assets to any number of beneficiaries without probate
● Ensures that children will be financially stable without meddling by a former spouse or partner
● Completely customized documents to your specifications
● Provides maximum control over distribution and administration of trust assets for blended families
● Designate separate trustees to handle estate administration for children of each parent
● Designate separate guardians to care for children of each parent
● Feel confident that your assets will be distributed as you direct
● Includes instructions and forms to guide trustees to handle trust property without an attorney
Your Estate Planning Professionals.
We have a great team of experienced people you will enjoy working with.
What Your Neighbors Are Saying...
We make estate planning simple and stress-free.
Very professional and knowledgeable! They made the detailed process very easy for me to understand and make the best decisions.
Vickie B.
Grand Rapids client
This was such a nice experience working with this firm for our estate planning. They are extremely knowledgeable and guided us to the perfect plan for us.
Carol Z.
Grand Rapids client
From the very first consultation, the team took the time to explain every detail, answer all my questions, and ensure that my wishes were clearly documented and legally sound.
Derrick D.
Northville client
Extremely knowledgeable and helped us with all our questions regarding laws and procedures pertaining to a detailed trust. We highly recommend this law firm.
Anjali B.
Northville client
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