1Wills
A will declares who shall inherit an individual's assets (the beneficiaries) and who shall be responsible for distributing them to such beneficiaries (the personal representative). For young parents and couples, a will can also be used to appoint a guardian for their minor children and a trustee to manage the children's money until they are old enough to handle it themselves. A Will only becomes effective upon your death, and after it is admitted to probate.
2Trusts
A trust is a intangible legal entity that is an agreement between the settler and the trustee, naming the trustee to control the grantor's property, or some of it, for the benefit of a beneficiary. The beneficiaries hold "equitable title" to those assets. The trust agreement defines the trustee's powers and duties. Trusts of various types are frequently used in estate planning to achieve tax, financial, and personal objectives.
3Probate
The personal representative of a Last Will and Testament, also called the executor on administration in other states, is responsible for the administration of the decedent's probate estate. That process includes collecting the decedent's assets, paying any debts or taxes owed, filing the decedent's final tax returns and inventory, distributing the remaining assets in accordance with the provisions of the will, and notifying companies that need to know about the death.
Testimonials
“"My wife and I have just had new wills prepared with your group Everything went very smoothly and to our complete satisfaction. The attorney understood exactly what we wanted, made a few very sensible suggestions for alterations and the whole job was rapidly concluded".”
-Brenda J. Williamson“"Thank you so much for all of the work you did in preparing our Wills, you were enormously helpful to us. We've grown to expect high standards of professionalism from the staff, you have maintained that reputation in our eyes. Very, many thanks." ”
-Eddie V. Poole, Jr.