Experienced Probate, Estate Planning, Trusts and Wills Attorneys
Fort Collins, CO - Windsor, CO
You may be retired and looking to plan for your "later years" and to preserve for your family the assets you have worked so hard to acquire. On the other hand, you may just be starting a family and be looking to protect your young children and assets in the event of an unexpected accident or illness. Or, you may simply need help in navigating the legal landscape with an aging parent or family member. There are a number of issues and options to consider, depending on your stage in life and your own unique family and financial circumstances, and the attorneys of Wick & Trautwein, LLC have the knowledge and experience to guide you through the process.
At Wick & Trautwein, LLC, we counsel clients in the development and implementation of comprehensive lifetime estate plans that carefully balance personal and administrative concerns. Our estate planning and probate practice includes services ranging from simple wills to complex trust arrangements and estate administration. We will work with you to determine which combination of tax planning tools is appropriate to your situation. When you are going through estate administration and probate, we can stand by to make sure the interests of you and your family are protected. Our estate planning services include:
- Simple and complex wills
- Trusts - testamentary, living and charitable
- Protective trusts for children or the elderly
- Advance Healthcare Directives and Powers of Attorney
- Living wills
- Guardianships and conservatorships
Do you really need an experienced Fort Collins, Colorado Wills Attorney?
Although there are no Colorado laws that mandate hiring an attorney for estate planning, there are good reasons to hire an experienced Colorado estate planning attorney when it comes time to draft your will.
Why not just use one of those "do it yourself" Wills or Trusts?
Rarely will a generic form will or trust take into account the legal requirements of Colorado. No matter how hard you try, you cannot force a form into taking account of your individual wishes. We see the fall-out from the use of form wills all the time. They rarely accomplish what the drafter intended. In the long run, straightening out the problems in a "do-it-yourself" will or trust can be far more expensive than initially consulting a lawyer who would have drafted the will or trust to your specifications.
Why even bother with a Will? Doesn't everything just pass to my spouse?
When you die without a will your estate is distributed by the probate court in the manner imposed by law. Although you may think that it will all pass to your spouse, depending on the size of the estate, your spouse may get less than you intended him or her to receive with the rest being held by a conservator for your children.
Death and Taxes
Tax considerations are pervasive in practically all aspects of our lives, and estate planning is no exception. Our developed expertise in tax law allows us to effectively work with your CPA in crafting a tax planning strategy that takes advantage of whatever tax incentives are available to preserve your estate to the greatest extent possible
Choosing an estate planning law firm is an important matter. We encourage you to contact us for more information about our qualifications to represent you.
