Qualified Estate Planning Attorney in Princeton, NJ
It can be difficult to contend with the idea of death. Knowing that your loved ones are still cared for should you pass away should make it easier. A well-organized estate plan is one of the finest legacies you can leave to your loved ones. Whether you are just beginning your career or are far over retirement age, estate planning can safeguard your family and help them through one of their most trying times.
Remember that the court will disregard your wishes to distribute your estate if you pass away without a valid will or estate plan. Instead, your estate will be allocated following a legal formula. Inderjit K. Sidhu ESQ. LLC is devoted to assisting clients in making the essential preparations to guarantee their future desires.
Our qualified estate planning lawyer in Princeton represents New Jersey residents with all sorts of estate planning concerns. We also represent fiduciaries and beneficiaries in contentious estate administration proceedings that may or may not result in litigation.
Why Do You Need an Estate Planning Lawyer in New Jersey?
Surprisingly, many individuals lack an estate plan and have never contacted an estate planning attorney. This is partly due to the misconception that estate planning is intended for those with a high net worth or substantial assets. This just is not the case. Everyone who owns the property has children or has a family should talk with us.
Without estate planning, family members are responsible for distributing a deceased loved one’s assets, payment of taxes, and burial preparations. These chores just increase the stress and difficulty of the mourning process. Although it is tempting to attempt to create an estate plan on your own, employing us has several advantages.
Here are the top reasons why our estate planning attorney in New Jersey is indispensable for ensuring the protection of a family, the care of an estate, and the equitable distribution of assets. A comprehensive estate plan is more than a will that distributes assets. It also helps heirs spend less on estate taxes, fees, and court costs.
We Deeply Know the Estate Planning Laws
The structure of a will and trust varies from state to state. Our New Jersey attorney for estate planning can clarify the legal wording that must be included in the will for it to be legitimate. The greatest error many make is attempting to create their estate plan using generic internet forms. If you make a single mistake, it can invalidate your estate plan. Worse, your family might have to go through an expensive and time-consuming probate process.
Our knowledgeable estate planning attorney in Princeton is invaluable for understanding the distinction between revocable and irrevocable trusts, who a grantor or trustee is, and whether a person should have a living or testamentary trust.
A person’s last wishes must be documented in a legally binding instrument that is properly executed. It is not worth putting your life’s work and your family’s future in jeopardy for incorrect paperwork. Hiring us will guarantee a proper outcome and a legally binding document.
We Can Help You Avoid Probate
The probate process can be stressful for your loved ones.
Even though probate might be relatively straightforward, estranged family members may endure an exceedingly traumatic and time-consuming procedure. If the will is contested or family members disagree about who should serve as an executor, the lawsuit might take considerably longer.
Work with us to avoid probate. It will avoid a more unpleasant experience than is necessary when dealing with your last wishes.
We Can Remind You to Update Your Last Will and Testament
Our estate planning attorney in Princeton is excellent at following up with clients to see whether there have been any significant life changes. If an estate plan is in place, we can contact you when needed to see whether it needs to be updated. This may need to incorporate a new spouse, child, or asset.
Due to possible complications, it is vital to keep an estate plan up-to-date. If an ex-spouse of the deceased is still listed as power of attorney or if just one of the deceased’s children is named, this might complicate issues.
We Can Handle The Tedious Paperwork
A comprehensive estate plan includes a ton of paperwork. Our New Jersey attorney for estate planning will ensure that these documents will respect your wishes in this manner. These documents consist of a health care directive and a power of attorney.
In the event of a vehicle accident resulting in a coma, omitting these forms or failing to complete them correctly may cause misunderstanding. The hospital staff will be unaware of the patient’s desire not to be resuscitated and will normally proceed with life-saving measures.
Our professional Princeton estate planning attorney deals with the concept of death daily. We aim to find ways for our clients to feel a bit more at ease with its certainty. Knowing that our clients, children, and families are cared for is central to our job.
What Is An Estate Plan?
An estate plan is a legal document that outlines your wishes to distribute your possessions if you die or become incapacitated. Examples of assets that could be included in a person’s estate are:
- Houses,
- Vehicles,
- Stocks,
- Fine art,
- Life insurance,
- Pensions, and
- Debt
There are many reasons for filing an estate plan. You could use it to conserve your family’s wealth. If you want to support your family if the unthinkable happens, estate plans can do that for you. They can also help pay for your children’s and grandchildren’s education or leave something for a charity you support.
Our talented estate planning lawyer in Princeton, NJ, can assist clients with practically all aspects of wills, trusts, and estate planning, such as:
Probate
Probate is the process that happens under a person dies. The procedure involves:
- Filing a probate case,
- Naming an executor,
- Informing all estate’s heirs,
- Combining all bank accounts,
- Settling any outstanding debts, and
- Distributing the estate’s assets.
The entire judicial procedure wastes a lot of time and money. Not to mention, it also delays when your loved ones can receive their inheritance. There’s also a chance that your assets will go to someone you did not want.
By avoiding probate, you save your loved ones’ time and money, as well as ensure that they receive their intended inheritance.
Trust
A trust is a legal instrument that authorizes a trustee to keep and manage assets for the benefit of its beneficiaries.
A trust is one of the ways to evade probate. This helps maintain your information’s confidentiality and safeguard the property and assets inside your estate. The assets you own, such as real estate, land, equities, bonds, and bank accounts, are used to fund a trust.
Trust can help you:
- Establish the inheritance payout schedule
- Escape probate and probate court
- Reduce your vulnerability to creditor litigation
- Minimize your estate taxes
- Establish lifetime access to your assets for your child or adult with special needs
When you die, your appointed representative promptly distributes the trust’s assets to the beneficiaries you’ve named.
Will
It is a legal document detailing your last wishes. A will should at least specify the following:
- Who will be the executor, the person to administer your estate after the death
- Whether and how taxes and debt are paid
- Guardians for your children
- Asset distribution
- What will happen to your personal and real property
- Here are some things you can also address when you create your will:
- Disinheritance of your spouse and children
- Potential obstacles to your will
- Future care for your pets
The probate court will read your will after your death. As mentioned, one of their jobs is to ensure that your desires are followed. One small mistake can spell trouble for your loved ones. Don’t let that happen to them. Call our experienced Princeton estate planning attorney today!
Power of Attorney
This appoints an agent to make choices on behalf of a loved one if they cannot do so themselves. The agent makes decisions depending on the loved one’s expressed desires. These agents must be properly selected, as they must be reliable.
Below are some examples of what a power of attorney can grant an agent::
- Make financial decisions
- Donate cash as presents
- Make medical treatment decisions, including the initiation, cessation, or postponement of diagnostic testing
In New Jersey, there are four common types of power of attorney:
- General Power of Attorney. A general power of attorney grants the agent the authority to decide anything. A general power of attorney expires when the principal revokes the authority, becomes disabled, or dies.
- Durable Power of Attorney. A durable power of attorney is distinct because a power of attorney does not expire even when the client becomes incapacitated.
- Special or Limited Power of Attorney. These are customizable powers of attorney. They can be altered to offer just specified rights to the agent, like selling the loved one’s real properties and assets.
- Springing Durable Power of Attorney. This document permits an agent to be awarded power of attorney for a limited time, such as when a loved one becomes disabled, and it is only accessible in certain states.
Regardless of the loved one’s decision, we urge you to contact our skilled Princeton estate planning attorney. We also recommend that you understand your loved one’s desires while they can still convey them to you.
Special Needs Planning
There is nothing more vital than protecting your family. With this crucial purpose in mind, our attorneys provide our clients with various estate planning services. Special needs planning is a major worry for clients who have a disabled child.
Special needs planning entails the drafting and assessing estate planning arrangements, such as special needs trusts. This is meant to assist disabled individuals in protecting their eligibility for different government benefits. Certain government benefits are restricted to those with low financial resources, and a sizable inheritance might risk a person’s eligibility for these benefits.
Creating a Special Needs Trust
If you have a disabled family member, you must act immediately. Creating a special needs trust or taking other legal precautions to safeguard a disabled family member will give both the safety they require and the peace of mind you deserve.
Our seasoned estate planning attorney in New Jersey can give complete guidance, including the following:
- Drafting a special needs trust
- Legal documents that precisely specify who will care for a disabled child or adult in the event of your death or incapacity
- Other essential legal safeguards to protect a disabled family member
Conservatorship
The conservator administers the individual’s financial affairs, including collecting assets and income, managing them, and maintaining their worth. Conservators are typically family members in their role as guardians of the person. They may also be family members, government institutions, attorneys, an organization, or a conservator.
Mental incapacity is not a requirement to establish a conservatorship, although that is typically the case. The appointment of a conservator is voluntary and is occasionally made with the conservatee’s approval. The conservator is required to provide for the individual’s care. The conservator is authorized and required to:
- Make payments for the conservatee’s education, care, and assistance
- Pay any legal debts the conservatee owes
- Collect and manage the conservatee’s assets
- Collect any monies owed to the conservatee
- Pay all due taxes
- Collaborate in estate planning
Conservators are usually required to apply for Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security benefits on behalf of a person.
Guardianship
Guardianship is the judicial procedure of appointing a guardian to represent a mentally incapacitated individual. Individuals cannot designate a guardian for themselves. Appointments to the role of the guardian are not voluntary. In New Jersey, an interested person or entity makes a formal application declaring that an individual is incapable of managing their affairs and requires a guardian.
Typically, medical proof, such as the testimony of a psychiatrist or gerontologist, is necessary to establish that a person lacks mental capacity. Once proven, the court examines the applicant’s qualities for guardianship.
All decisions made by the guardian must be in the individual’s best interest. Guardians can also choose the individual’s companions. Certain acts, such as administering drugs with severe adverse effects, may require extrajudicial clearance.
When Should Estate Planning Begin?
Never is it too early to begin estate planning. Unfortunately, too many individuals procrastinate until it is too late. No one can predict the future; therefore, you must finish your estate plan while still having the legal power to enter into a contract.
Otherwise, if the unexpected occurs and you become disabled for whatever reason, others will decide how your affairs will be handled and what medical treatment you will get. Estate planning aims to provide for the people who matter most in your life.
When to Update Your Estate Plan?
A comprehensive estate plan should contain papers that may be modified over time. You can include many contingencies in your will, such as what happens in the event of a beneficiary’s divorce or death. However, you may need to amend your estate plan. Depending on the occurrence of any of the following events, you may need to update your estate plan:
- You become married
- You become divorced
- You desire to provide for a disabled relative
- You wish to disinherit a beneficiary
- You relocated to a different country or state
- The value of your estate has soared significantly
- A benefactor has passed
- You acquired real estate in another state
- You have changed your mind on the recipient of your assets
- You have changed your mind about who will serve as your executor, health care proxy, trustee, or in another capacity
How Can Our Skilled New Jersey Estate Planning Attorney Help?
Our skilled Princeton estate planning lawyers utilize our understanding of estate planning law to create an estate plan to your specific requirements. Because estate planning is sensitive, hiring an attorney who will treat your case with sensitivity is essential. We will lead you through the process, define your goals, and explain your alternatives patiently. A comprehensive estate plan will achieve the following:
- Plan for the transfer of your assets if you become disabled or pass away
- Minimize the tax burden on your estate
- Reduce family tension
- Prevent family conflicts
- Minimize time in probate court
- Reduce the value of the estate in probate court
- According to your instructions, distribute your wealth to your children, spouse, loved ones, and charity
If you are dealing with a complex estate planning issue, our experienced Princeton estate planning attorney in New Jersey will provide guidance and explain your options.
Our Skilled NJ Estate Planning Attorney is Here to Lend a Hand
The purpose of estate planning is to provide for the people who matter most in your life. Our estate planning attorneys have years of experience assisting New Jersey residents in maximizing the wealth preservation of themselves and their loved ones via estate planning.
When you pick us to handle your needs for wills, trusts, and estate planning, you can expect professional, knowledgeable advice and personalized service to ensure your desires are carried out swiftly and successfully. Please call us immediately to book a free 15-minute consultation with our skilled Princeton estate planning attorney in NJ.
