Estate planning lawyers use Wills, Trusts, and other legal documents to control the way a decedent's property passes to their family and other beneficiaries. Without proper planning, property will often pass in a way that is different from what the owner would have wanted, or in a way that is unduly expensive. The thing about estate planning is that you only get one chance to get it right. Once the estate owner dies, it's very hard to fix things that were done wrong.

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Some common tools of the Estate Planning lawyer are:

Wills - the Will is a legally binding document that expresses a deceased person's instructions for how to dispose of his or her property. The key thing to know about a Will is that it only applies to property that the decedent owned individually, and for which there is no designated beneficiary. In other words, jointly-owned property and property where there is a beneficiary designation (such as life insurance or a retirement account) isn't usually affected by the Will.

Revocable Living Trusts - the Trust is a contract between the person who creates the Trust (usually called the "grantor" or "settlor") and the person who manages the Trust (the "trustee"). The grantor creates the Trust by signing the contract and transferring property to the trustee, who agrees to hold onto the property and follow the instructions in the contract. In many revocable living trusts, the grantor and the trustee are the same person. The Trust contract names a successor trustee to take over as trustee when the grantor dies or becomes incapacitated.

Durable Power of Attorney - this document lets a person name someone else to handle his or her affairs during lifetime. Using a durable power of attorney can be a way of avoiding the need for guardianships or conservatorships. They can be effective right away or they can take effect upon the principal's incapacity.

Patient Advocate Designation and Advance Medical Directive - this document allows a person to name an individual to make medical decisions for them if they are unable to do it themselves. It can be used to allow the "patient advocate" to order that medical treatment be withheld or withdrawn under certain conditions.

More sophisticated Estate Planning might include techniques like:

• Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts
• Special Needs Trusts for beneficiaries who are disabled
• Medicaid Planning
• Family limited partnerships or family limited liability companies
• Charitable Remainder Trusts
• Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts
• Private Annuities
• Lifetime Gifting

Estate and inheritance taxes ("death taxes") can often be avoided or minimized through proper estate planning. There are also income tax implications when a decedent has tax-deferred investments like an IRA or 401k account. Some strategies allow the beneficiaries to stretch out distributions (and the tax on those distributions) over many years, maximizing the tax benefit of these accounts.

Because there are many factors and decisions involved, the planning process can seem complex and overwhelming. At Driggers, Schultz & Herbst, we help you gather the information and clarify your goals. Then we work with you to develop and design a solid plan that is customized for your needs.

Estate planning is a specialized and technical practice area and you should get legal advice to develop, design and document your plan. It's not an area for novices and do-it-yourselfers. Remember, there's no "do-over" if things go wrong. The experienced estate planning attorneys at Driggers, Schultz & Herbst can help.