At McKillop Law Firm, our focus on estate planning extends beyond wills and trusts to design a personalized roadmap for your future. Throughout the process, we work with you to understand your values, wishes, and unique family dynamics to create a tailored plan that safeguards your assets, minimizes taxes, and helps continue care for your loved ones. Our team understands that every family should have an estate plan.
Life is precious and so is protecting your legacy.
We take a custom approach
When it comes to estate planning, you are in control. Our guidance and support are designed to protect your wishes and provide optimal outcomes for all involved. You will decide:
- Where your assets will go and how they will be managed.
- Who will be in charge of your estate.
- Who will take care of your dependents.
We specialize in the following services:
Legacy Planning
While no one enjoys contemplating the end of life, preparing for it is an act of love for your family. McKillop Law Firm is dedicated to guiding you through the process with empathy and expertise. We believe everyone deserves a dignified and secure future, regardless of what the future holds.
Some of the preparations that are included in this part of the estate plan:
- Revocable trust
- Last will and testament
Asset Protection
Safeguarding your hard-earned assets is important. Planning includes protection from your potential creditors as well as protection of an inheritance from your heirs’ creditors. With proven asset protection strategies, we work hard to meet your asset protection goals.
This area of planning can include:
- LLC formation and management
- Special trust provisions
- Irrevocable trust
Care of Dependents
Our team knows first-hand the profound responsibility of caring for dependents, and we’re here to help you make informed decisions for their future. We’ll work closely with you to create a comprehensive plan that addresses your dependents’ needs – whether they’re minor children, aging parents, or individuals with special needs.
Our plans identify who will take responsibility for dependents and their assets, as well as special-needs trust planning.
If You Can’t Care for Yourself
Ensuring your wishes are heard if you can’t speak for yourself is paramount. Incapacity planning is a way of preparing for your needs and desires to be met. Our work allows you to appoint who should make your financial and healthcare decisions if you can’t make them for yourself. This includes:
- Durable power of attorney
- Health care surrogate
- Living will
Core Estate Planning Documents
Medical Advance Directives
State your wishes for and specify who you want to make medical decisions on your behalf if you can’t make those decisions yourself. Documents in this category include the Designation Health Care Surrogate, Living Will, and HIPAA Authorization.
Durable Power of Attorney
This document is for lifetime financial management. In the Durable Power of Attorney you appoint someone to act as your agent to manage your assets (pay your bills, manage your bank accounts, etc.) on your behalf.
Guardian for Minor
Designate who will care for your minor children if you cannot care for them yourself. In Florida the main document used for this is the Declaration Nominating Preneed Guardian for Minor.
Last Will and Testament
Your Last Will and Testament is your instruction manual for the probate of your estate. Oftentimes, the goal is to minimize or completely avoid probate, thus an important aspect of putting together a Last Will is to also structure assets so that they avoid probate completely.
Revocable Trust
Revocable Trusts allow you to structure the inheritance of your assets so that you maintain control even after you’re gone. Trusts are great tools for estate plans that include minor children or beneficiaries that are not making good life choices. Trusts are also great for avoiding probate and handling complicated assets. Trusts are not a necessary component of all estate plans, but they are a great tool when the circumstances warrant their use.
Getting Started
To help you navigate these decisions, we provide tailored guidance. A comprehensive estate plan is essential for protecting your family’s future. We can help you establish one that aligns with your specific needs in just a few steps.
When you work with McKillop Law Firm, we get to know you first. We learn about your family and finances. We discuss your estate planning goals and we educate you on the various strategies to meet your goals.
In the Design Meeting, we will discuss who you want appointed in the various fiduciary and surrogate roles. Sometimes this can be a hard decision and we help guide you through the options.
For trust-based estates, we will also review all pertinent details, such as the trust structure and how trust assets will be distributed to your beneficiaries.
Usually, the Design Meeting is part of the Initial Meeting. But, depending on on the estate, sometimes we schedule a standalone Design Meeting.
During this meeting, we review your documents and fine-tune your estate plan together. We are committed to helping you understand your estate planning documents and providing ample opportunity to ask questions. After this meeting, we make any final revisions, and prepare your documents for signing.
By now, you are well versed in your estate documents. This meeting is the easiest of all — you just need to sign everything.
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