Estate planning enables individuals to exercise control over how their assets are distributed in the event of incapacitation or death. Attorney Margaret Szymansky assists her clients in crafting estate plans that are tailored to their unique family situations and financial circumstances.

A proper estate planning structure can help provide financial security for clients and their loved ones.  Attorney Szymansky further reviews their existing estate documents and determines whether revision would be advisable. She further educates and guides her clients, enabling them to understand their options, consider alternatives, and make informed decisions for themselves.

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• Wills: ​A will is a fundamental component of every estate plan and allows individuals to specify how their assets should be distributed after death.  Will goes into effect only after someone’s death and is subject to probate proceedings.

• Trusts: Incorporate specific estate planning needs, including Revocable Living Trusts, Martial Trusts, Charitable Trusts, Generation Skipping Trusts, Asset Protection Trusts, and Land Trusts. Trusts can be effective during a lifetime and can help avoid the probate process. Strategic planning can minimize estate taxes, thereby maximizing the amount that is passed on to heirs.
• Healthcare Power of Attorney: A crucial legal document that enables the appointment of a person to make important healthcare decisions on someone’s behalf in the event of incapacity or an inability to make decisions independently. Without advance authorization, a medical provider may not permit loved ones to make decisions on their behalf and may instead require a court-appointed guardian to act on their behalf.

• Property Power of Attorney: Document grants a trusted individual legal authority to handle someone’s financial and legal affairs in case of incapacity or inability to make decisions. The appointed individual will be able to pay bills, contact insurance, file tax returns, and take other actions on someone’s behalf.

• Transfer of Death Instrument (TODI): Designed for smaller estates and can be used to add a beneficiary on residential real estate property. The instrument is recorded in the county where the property is located. After the death of the property owner, the TODI allows the beneficiary to claim the property by recording the necessary paperwork without the need for probate court proceedings.

• Trust Funding: Instructions and preparation of documents transferring assets into a trust, including deeds, letters to financial institutions, and assignments of beneficial interests in companies.  All of this ensures that trust is funded as desired.