Estate Planning

Control Your Assets by Estate Planning with Marion, Indiana Attorney

Estate planning is a way for you to control what happens to your assets when you die and what type of end of life care you want for yourself. Some important estate planning tools include, but are not limited to:

Wills

In your will, you specifically state how your assets will be distributed. For example, you

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can leave your car to your youngest son, your savings account to your neighbor, and nothing to your daughter. It is all up to you and what you have put in writing as your last will and testament. You also name a person you trust as your administrator or personal representative. That person has the obligation to see that your wishes are carried out according to the terms of your will.

Trusts

There are several different types of trusts you can form. One is a Revocable Trust, also referred to as a Living Trust, which allows for management of your assets during your lifetime with transfer to heirs upon your death that helps them avoid certain taxes. There are Irrevocable Trusts that are controlled differently, different tax consequences and protect your assets from creditors.

Healthcare Directives

In this document, you name someone you trust to make healthcare decisions for you when you are unable to make them for yourself. You can also specifically name someone who you do not want to make those decisions. The law requires your wishes to be followed.

Durable Power of Attorney

You name someone you trust to make financial decisions for you when you are unable to make them for yourself. You determine, in the document itself, how much control you are giving that person and for how long they have the power to act on your behalf.

Living Wills

In a living will, you state exactly what type of end-of-life care you want and your wishes must be followed. This makes you the one to decide whether all life-saving measures should be taken even if there is no medical probability that they will be effective or do you want a Do Not Resuscitate Order to be in place.

To establish these vehicles that allow you to control the distribution of your assets instead of the state, call us at the Law Offices of Elizabeth A. Homes, LLC. We work with you to determine your needs and draft the specific documents that will serve you best. Our clients are located throughout all of Central Indiana, including Fishers, Lawrence, Noblesville, Westfield, Williams Creek and Zionsville. We also serve clients in multiple other counties outside of Central Indiana. These include but are not limited to Allen, Boone, Carroll, Dearborn, Grant, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Henry, Howard, Jasper, Johnson, Madison, Marion, Morgan and Tippecanoe.