Looking for an Estate Planning Lawyer Near You?

Our estate planning lawyers in our Doylestown and Norristown law offices can help you plan for retirement and long-term care. They take  a “holistic” approach and deploy a variety of strategies to protect you including care giving, will preparation, powers of attorney, advance directives, taxation considerations, and many other complex issues.

Estate Planning Legal Services

Our estate lawyers provide comprehensive legal services to assist in all of these matters. Estate planning services include:

• Advance Directives
• Estate Administration & Probate
• Estate Planning
• Guardianships
• Powers of Attorney
• Probate
• Special Needs Trusts
• Taxation
• Trusts
• Wills
• Will & Trust Litigation

Estate plans are not just for very rich or retired people — more than ever before, they are the right thing for anybody who has a family or a business or wants to be in control of personal health and wealth. The estate planning attorneys in Bucks County and Montgomery County support your decision to be proactive in protecting your family’s future.

Equally important, our estate planning law firm can help you protect, preserve and manage your estate so you can reach your goals of safeguarding assets, planning for orderly business succession, minimizing inheritance taxes and making sure the benefits of your hard work go to your family, not to the government.

What goes into an estate plan?

There can be many instruments that go into an estate plan, but whether your estate is modest or complex, there are several basic ingredients that should be considered:

Understanding Wills and Trusts

Your last will and testament expresses your final wishes regarding how you want your estate distributed. A will goes into effect when you die. A trust goes into effect the moment it is created and is generally used to set aside funds or property for a specific purpose. Our will lawyers guide you through the process of creating wills and trusts that meet your estate planning needs.

Advanced Directives

Also known as living wills, advance directives for healthcare in Pennsylvania allow you to decide in advance what type of healthcare you want should you become incapacitated or unable to express your wishes regarding accepting, rejecting or discontinuing medical treatment. Living will also take the onus of having to make painful decisions about your care off your loved ones.

Power of Attorney

A power of attorney lets you appoint someone you trust to manage your financial or medical affairs should you be unable or unavailable to handle your own affairs.

Estate Administration & Probate

Estate administration is the process of managing and distributing the assets of the deceased. The tasks of estate administration and probate fall to the executor or personal representative named in the will, or if there is no will, an administrator named by the court.

Probate is the specific manner by which your estate is distributed through the legal system. In Pennsylvania, small estates can go through a simplified process. If the estate has more than $25,000 in assets, regular probate procedures are required. In either case, our estate planning lawyers can guide you through the executor or personal representative responsibilities, assuring that you meet deadlines and are in compliance with your fiduciary duties.

What Happens if the Estate is Disputed?

When a will or trust is in dispute, families can be torn apart at the very time they should be pulling together. Our estate lawyers help by looking for an estate dispute resolution that causes the least financial and emotional distress. If litigation becomes necessary, our estate planning attorneys provide vigorous advocacy on behalf of our clients.

Isn’t It Time You Had an Estate Plan?

A well-crafted and regularly reviewed estate plan is the best gift you can give your family. As an experienced and well recognized estate planning firm, our estate lawyers can help you create a plan that works for you and helps you meet your goals.

Substantial estates are managed with care and foresight by estate attorneys at our local law offices in our Doylestown and Norristown. Our estate lawyers can counsel you about preserving your assets for future generations.

If you’re considering creating an estate plan, set up a consultation with one of our estate lawyers today.