Our estate planning services include wills, trusts, the Kids Emergency Action Plan (KEAP™), trust administration, asset protection and probate services
We provide a variety of estate planning services to our clients in Cary, Raleigh and other areas of the Triangle. Here is a brief summary of the various we provide for our estate planning clients and their families.
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Will-Based Estate Planning
Who is this appropriate for?
For our younger families that have children, but don’t own a home or have less than $100,000 in assets (including retirement accounts, home equity, bank or investment accounts, etc.), we offer a will based estate planning package.
This is appropriate for your family if you do not have assets that would need to go through probate, but you DO have minor children that you want to care for no matter what happens to you. In addition, you should make sure that your healthcare wishes are codified in a legal document and your loved ones can access your financial assets using a durable power of attorney should you become incapacitated.
What is included?
The will based plan Includes a Will, Health Care Directives & Powers of Attorney. These documents will allow you to feel a sense of calm and peace of mind in knowing that you are well taken care of if anything happens. This plan also includes a Kids Emergency Action Plan (aka KEAP™ Your Kids Safe Plan) to ensure that your children are always raised by the people you want, in the way you want and never taken out of your home by Child Protective Services or any other governmental authorities.
You may also elect to include post-death trust planning to protect assets for the people you love.
Trust-Based Estate Planning
Who is this appropriate for?
A Trust-Based Plan is most appropriate for families that have total assets that exceed $100,000. This plan will provide you with total assurance and peace of mind in knowing that your Family Wealth will be transferred to your heirs with the most ease and convenience possible. Not only that, this will all take place in the privacy of our law office without court involvement.
If you choose the Trust based plan, you may also opt to protect your beneficiary’s inheritance from lawsuits, spouses (i.e. divorce) and estate taxes.
What is included?
Like the will based plan, the trust-based plan also includes your Health Care Directives & Powers of Attorney. In addition, you will receive a trust and a pour-over Will. Aside from providing total peace of mind in knowing that we are here to guide you both during your life and to care for your family later, the trust-based plan keeps your loved ones out of Court, all of your affairs totally private & ensures that your family can turn to us when necessary to administer your trust.
In the Trust-Based plan, you have the option to handle all asset transfers yourself, with unlimited guidance and support from us, or for an extra fee, we will handle your asset transfers for you. In addition, you will receive a Kids Emergency Action Plan (KEAP™) if you have minor children.
Kids Emergency Action Plan (KEAP™ Your Kids Safe)
The Kids Emergency Action Plan, (which we also refer to as the KEAP™ Your Kids Safe Plan), is a special package that we put together for our families with minor children and is included in all will or trust-based plans if you have children.
The Kids Emergency Action Plan will give you total peace of mind to know that your children are safe and taken care of should anything happen to you and/or your spouse such that neither of you is available to care for and protect your children.
A KEAP™ provides this peace of mind by allowing you to designate trusted emergency guardians for your children in the event something were to happen to you.
You love your children. Get started with a Kids Emergency Action Plan today and KEAP™ them safe!
Additional Estate Planning Services
Trust Administration
Should something happen to you, you want to know that your loved ones are taken care of. That’s where our trust administration services come in.
If you prepare a trust-based plan, then your estate will go through “trust administration” upon your passing, rather than the probate process. Some of the advantages to trusting administration vs. probate are that your beneficiaries have the potential to receive property much faster than in probate, and the process is much more private.
Finally, administering a trust is typically much less expensive and faster than having your estate go through probate.
North Carolina Probate Attorney
As mentioned before, a trust is not for everyone. For those clients who choose a will based plan, their estate will go through a process called probate when they pass away. At The Hart Law Firm, we can assist you with planning the most appropriate and cost-effective way to probate your loved one’s estate. If you are the beneficiary of a will or are named an executor of an estate, call us to set up an initial meeting.
We understand first hand that probate can be an intimidating process for many people to go through, and we pride ourselves in providing counsel and peace of mind to people during the most difficult of times.
Asset Protection Services
The key to properly protecting your assets is to take care of the planning before there is a claim or lawsuit against you. That’s where we can help. We work with our clients to assess their situation, determine where their current plan is vulnerable, and prepare a plan that protects their assets from future creditors, both known and unknown.
Cary, North Carolina Estate Planning Services
If you have further questions about any of the estate planning services referenced on this page call us at (919) 460-5422. If you would prefer for us to call you, please feel free to fill out our contact page and a member of our team will get back to you as soon as possible.