Southbury Asset Protection Lawyer

Southbury Asset Protection Attorney

It is difficult to think about death, but estate planning is an essential consideration that can benefit your family in many ways. You have worked hard to earn your wealth, and it is natural to wish to protect it as much as possible. An experienced Southbury asset protection lawyer at Burns Thomas, LLC, can help you make informed decisions and create a plan that helps you meet your goals.

Our firm has extensive experience providing careful legal advice for asset protection in creating estate plans. While thinking about death is often unpleasant, taking firm steps now to protect your beneficiaries can pay off tremendously, saving them a great deal of time, money, and stress when it comes to resolving your estate.

What Is Asset Protection?

Asset protection, put simply, is taking legal steps to preserve as much of your wealth as possible after your death, ensuring your family can inherit as much as possible. Whenever a person dies without an estate plan in place, their estate enters probate. This is a notoriously tedious and time consuming process that often leaves beneficiaries frustrated, and it can also open the door for disputes to arise.

Creating a comprehensive and legally enforceable estate plan is one of the most effective ways to ensure your loved ones can avoid probate. Your estate plan can also provide valuable end-of-life instructions for your family:

• You can designate a trusted loved one as your power of attorney, which enables them to make important legal decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated.
• You can set a “Do Not Resuscitate” order, ensuring that medical providers honor your wishes and only provide the level of lifesaving medical treatment you wish to receive.
• Your Advanced Medical Care Directive can stipulate what type of treatment you want if you become unable to convey your wishes in a critical medical situation.

In addition to addressing these concerns, your estate plan is a valuable tool for asset protection. While most people are aware of what a will can accomplish, it is important to understand the various options you have that can provide more robust legal protection and tax advantages to your family. An experienced estate planning lawyer can guide you through trusts, powers of attorney, and other tools that go beyond a basic will. A will should only be one element of your estate plan, and Burns Thomas, LLC, can help you enhance your estate plan as much as possible.

Options for Asset Protection in Estate Planning

When estate administration unfolds through the probate process, the probate court will distribute the contents of the estate according to Connecticut’s intestate succession law. This can leave some beneficiaries feeling slighted, and disputes can arise if family members feel that the court’s decisions do not align with what the deceased would have wanted.

Disputes are especially likely to arise when it comes to financial matters, such as distributing assets the deceased has left to their family. Burns Thomas, LLC, can help you arrange asset protection in various ways:

• Trusts are invaluable tools for asset protection. By placing your assets in a trust and designating a personal representative to administrate the trust, you can help your family avoid potentially expensive tax penalties.

• Our team can help you create a family limited partnership. This can be especially valuable for business owners, ensuring there is a firm plan in place for the future of your business after your death.
• We can explain the benefits of creating a limited liability company (LLC), which can separate business assets from personal assets and help clarify estate administration.
• Our team can help you establish joint property ownership. This can eliminate the need to designate a beneficiary for an asset, enabling the joint owner to assume full ownership after your death.
• Your Southbury asset protection lawyer can explain any statutory exemptions that apply to elements of your estate. It’s possible to take advantage of tax exemptions, special rules for veterans, and more with the help of your attorney.

You may have more options for protecting your assets than you initially expected. Working with a seasoned Southbury asset protection lawyer can limit uncertainty and help you make more informed decisions about your estate plan. It is also possible to modify an existing estate plan under certain conditions, so your attorney can provide ongoing assistance in the future.

Whether the best option for you is a comprehensive will, the establishment of trusts or other estate planning solutions, we will find a solution that fits your needs.

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Understanding Estate Taxes in Connecticut

Every state has different rules pertaining to estate taxes. In Connecticut, estate taxes are applied based on the date of death and the total value of the estate on a sliding scale. Each year, the threshold for estate value increases, and an estate valued below this threshold is not subject to estate tax.

Depending on the value of your estate, it may be worth considering creating a trust. Our team can explain your options for creating your trust and the potential advantages and drawbacks of each option. For example, an irrevocable trust cannot be changed once created but provides powerful tax advantages to your beneficiaries and can help them avoid probate.

Burns Thomas, LLC, has a deep understanding of state and federal estate tax laws. While tax authorities are likely to do everything they can to extract as much as possible from your estate, our firm will do everything we can to preserve your wealth for your family as much as possible.

What to Expect From Your Southbury Asset Protection Lawyer

Asset protection is an important consideration for every estate plan. You likely have clear goals for your estate after your death, and the right attorney can help you configure your estate plan in such a way to ensure you meet those goals.

Burns Thomas, LLC, has helped many past clients throughout the Southbury area with asset protection. No matter the size of your estate, we will carefully review the details of your estate plan, determine your greatest areas of vulnerability, and develop a comprehensive asset protection strategy that safeguards your wealth and your family’s interests.

It is never too early to start building your estate plan. If you have concerns about protecting your assets, Burns Thomas, LLC, is ready to help. Contact us today and schedule your consultation with a Southbury asset protection lawyer to start building your estate plan.