Estate Planning

Do you know your rights to distribute and protect your property, both during your lifetime and upon your death? What are your views on life support systems? What would happen to your assets if you exceed medical insurance coverage or if you don’t have a will. Who can conduct your financial and legal affairs if you are unable?

We often spend very little time evaluating methods for protecting and preserving our assets. We do not like to think about disability or mortality; yet thinking about it and dealing with the financial ramifications of these inevitabilities is necessary. If we want to leave a financial legacy that empowers our heirs and allows them to build upon our efforts, then planning is an imperative. Even relatively simple estate planning techniques can defer or reduce income and capital gains taxes during life and reduce or eliminate estate taxes at death. Estate planning is more than preparing a will or revocable living trust, although for many people this is the first step.

At different stages in life our clients will have different estate planning needs. Early in life a simple will and durable power of attorney may be all that is necessary to ensure an orderly distribution of assets on death. However, as assets and families grow in size and complexity, an estate plan must be able to meet additional contingencies. No two families or individuals are alike and so no two estate plans are identical.

The increase in both personal wealth and the divorce rate has made estate planning more necessary and more complex. We work with our clients and often their financial planners, accountants, and insurance professionals to devise a comprehensive estate plan. Our focus is on creating plans that accomplish client objectives in a manner that is as simple and efficient as possible. That is not to say that we do not deal with complex planning solutions; we feel that complexity should be driven by client objectives.

Our Estate Lawyer Services Include the Following:

Preparation of Wills and Trusts
Creation of Family Limited Partnerships
Estate and Gift Tax Planning
Preparation of Durable Powers of Attorney for Finances and Health Care
Preparation of Living Wills
Elder Law Consulting (PDF)

Our initial consultations for estate planning matters are free. We would be more than happy to schedule a time with you to discuss your needs and review any current estate planning documents you have. Additionally, the South Carolina Bar has information available on its website that may be useful in understanding legal issues in advance of your appointment. A pamphlet concerning wills and the law (PDF) is available, as well as one explaining the dangers of so-called "trust kits" (PDF) purchased from seminars and online. (These pamphlets are in Adobe pdf. format - Download the free Adobe Reader.)

IRS Circular 230 Disclosure

To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS and other taxing authorities, we inform you that any tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties that may be imposed on any taxpayer or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.