Practice Areas

Karnopp,

Radosevich & Preston, LLC

Wills

Your "Last Will and Testament" is the standard document that we draft for nearly all our clients.  It sets out your wishes for how your estate should be managed after your death.  Your will is the legal document that allows you to designate your "Personal Representative" who is the person you appoint to be in charge of gathering and distributing your assets. Your will also instructs your personal representative regarding to whom they should distribute which assets, and how you prefer your remains to be dealt with. You are in control of how your will is written, and it is your decision how your assets should be distributed.  We will be happy to assist you in crafting a will that achieves your wishes.

Probate

"Probate" is the legal process, supervised by a special court, which provides legal mechanisms to collect and distribute your assets.  Before your personal representative can collect and distribute your assets, the judge must formally appoint them to their post.  The court ensures that all beneficiaries listed in your will, and certain family members, receive notice of your death and the appointment of the personal representative, so that they will know whom to contact with questions.  After appointment, the personal representative keeps the beneficiaries informed of the process, including an inventory of your assets and an accounting for all of the receipts and costs involved in administering your estate.  In the end, the personal representative will distribute the assets to the beneficiaries you designate, notify them all that the estate is ready to close, and then ask the judge to formally close the estate.  Our lawyers assist the personal representative during this process.

Powers of Attorney

As we age, we often find that there are periods of our life when we can no longer attend to our own affairs.  We need assistance from our friends and family during those times.  A power of attorney is a legal document that allows you to choose which of your friends or family members should provide that assistance.  It allows us to control aspects of our lives even after we are no longer able, by controlling whose wisdom will be accepted and who will managed our affairs.  A standard power of attorney allows you to designate this trusted "agent" who will handle your affairs during your incapacity.  A "Living Will" is a variation of a power of attorney that allows you to appoint a person who will make health care decisions for you if you cannot communicate your preferences to your doctor.   We will be happy to explain how powers of attorney work, and what authorities your agent will exercise during your incapacity.

Trusts

For some families, a trust is an elegant way to manage assets both during your lifetime, during your declining years when you need assistance, and even for extended periods after your death.  Trusts can also be written to provide competent trustees of your choosing to manage assets for the benefit of a minor or an adult dependent who cannot manage their own assets wisely.  Trusts are also frequently used to reduce taxes.  While there are many types of trusts that are appropriate in various situations, the concept of a trust is consistent:  a "Settlor" places assets in the control of a "Trustee" and provides written instructions on how the trustee should manage those assets and use the income, all for the benefit of certain "Beneficiaries."   A trust is treated like a contract, under the law, so that the Settlor, the Trustee and the Beneficiaries all have legally enforceable rights under the written terms of the document. While that all sounds a bit like a legal nightmare, in fact most trusts are administered entirely in private, and no court ever gets involved.  Many families use trusts as a substitute for the wills and powers of attorney described above.  Trusts are elegant because they provide for consistent and competent management of your assets during periods of good health and during your declining years.  After your death, a trust acts much like a will, except it is NOT supervised by a court, and the trustee can begin their work right away, without waiting for a court order.  The administration of trusts is an entirely private affair, and the courts only get involved when a Settlor, Trustee or Beneficiary asks for the court's intervention.   When you first set up a trust, you normally play all three roles:  you are the Settlor, who places your assets into the trust, you are the Trustee, who manages the assets and the income, and you are the beneficiary.  During that period, you are in complete control. But your written instructions provide for the appointment of a successor trustee, whom you choose, to take over later and manage the assets during your declining years and following your death.   Please feel free to call one of our attorneys if you think that a trust might be useful for managing your assets.