Why You Should Invest in Estate Planning in Virginia Beach

Estate planning is essential when it comes to protecting those you love, and it’s not something you want to do by yourself. From appointing an advanced medical directive to writing your will, the first step in creating an estate plan is to determine your goals. We are here to talk about the concerns that motivated you to plan in the first place, and our experienced attorneys are here to assist you with your goals.

Typical estate planning goals include:

• Providing financial protection for your surviving spouse
• Protecting and preserving an inheritance for your children (especially if your children are from a prior marriage or multiple marriages)
• Providing for minor children or grandchildren (especially disabled ones)
• Minimizing estate and income taxes
• Determining proper beneficiary designations for retirement plans, IRAs, annuities, and life insurance policies
• Naming guardians for your minor children
• Keeping your business “in the family”
• Establishing trusts for professional management of your assets
• Preventing the loss of your assets to the creditors and predators of your beneficiaries
• Ensuring that your charitable giving goals are perpetuated

Related Article: Why Set Up a Trust for Your Grandchildren?

Why Work With Midgett Preti Olansen

The attorneys with Midgett Preti Olansen bring over 100 years of combined experience to the complex practice of estate planning. We help our clients create and administer their estates and trusts and know our way inside the courtroom should litigation become necessary.

Serving the Hampton Roads area and Northeast North Carolina, our law firm is committed to providing unsurpassed client service by offering professional advice and dedicated legal representation. You can depend on us to protect your privacy and find ways to protect your future and the future of your loved ones.

Testimonials From Happy Clients

“Todd Preti has handled our will and trust needs since 2013. He and his staff are very professional and are patient in answering our questions. I have recommended them to friends and will continue to do so.” — Roger O.

“Went to the law firm of Midgett Preti Olansen (MPO) for the first time last week. My appointment was with Mr. Nathan Olansen to have a new will and trusts set up for me. Mr. Olansen was professional, courteous, and knowledgeable. He carefully listened to my concerns, answered all of my questions, and gave me important advice. I never felt rushed during our first meeting either. Have several papers that I received from him, which I will complete before I go back next time. Mr. Olansen informed me that we will have at least two more appointments. He told me the amount I would have to pay for his services, and I felt it was a fair price. I found it very comfortable dealing with Mr. Olansen, and I look forward to our next meeting.” — K. Susan H.

Services Provided by Our Virginia Beach Estate Planning Attorneys

Once you have defined your goals, the next step is to identify the most effective estate planning tools for achieving those goals based on the advice of experienced counsel. A strong estate plan should include one or more of the following documents.

Will

The foundation of most estate plans, the will appoints an executor to carry out your written instructions for the distribution of your estate, through probate, following your death. The will is also used to appoint guardians for your minor children.

Revocable “Living” Trust

A popular estate-planning vehicle, the living trust is a document in which you can name yourself as the initial trustee and beneficiary. Assets re-titled in the name of your living trust enable a successor trustee to manage the trust assets in case of your incapacity or death, without court involvement (i.e., probate is not required). The living trust is designed to reduce the cost and delays of estate settlement associated with wills and probate, protect your family’s privacy, and avoid conservatorship proceedings for the court-supervised management of your assets during disability.

Financial Power of Attorney

Everyone needs to have a person legally designated to manage their financial affairs. A durable financial power of attorney appoints another person as your agent for making all of your financial and legal decisions in the event of temporary and/or permanent physical or mental incapacity.

Your agent will be authorized to:

• Pay your bills,
• Sign contracts on your behalf,
• Operate your business,
• Amend beneficiary designations, and
• Perform myriad other finance-related tasks on your behalf.

Health Care Power of Attorney

Distinguished from the financial power of attorney, the health care power of attorney appoints another person to make all of your medical decisions if you are deemed unable to give informed consent for your treatment.

Your agent will be authorized to:

• Authorize or refuse medical treatment,
• Gain access to your medical records,
• Arrange for long-term care, and
• Perform myriad other medical and health-related tasks on your behalf.

“Living Will”

A living will is a type of advanced healthcare directive where you set instructions for how your future medical care and decisions will be made. It typically sets forth your desire that life-prolonging procedures be withdrawn or withheld if you are diagnosed as being in a terminal condition or persistent vegetative state with no reasonable chance for recovery.

An attorney can help you customize this document to reflect your values or religious beliefs, and you may direct your healthcare agent to enforce the living will if necessary. Sometimes, the Living Will is combined with and made a part of your health care power of attorney.

Related Article: Reasons Why You Should Hire a Professional Executor

Advanced Estate Planning

Advanced estate planning involves assessing the anticipated estate tax and income tax liability of an individual or married couple and determining which combination of recognized – or creative – strategies will reduce or eliminate these taxes. Where appropriate, arrangements can be made to provide heirs with funds intended to replace the assets confiscated by high taxes.

If you are in an occupation that carries a high risk of liability (doctor, dentist, lawyer, professional athlete, entertainer, contractor, etc.), or your beneficiaries require protection from creditors or predators, asset protection strategies can be deployed to ensure your assets remain out of the reach of bad actors.

The following are some of the more common advanced estate planning vehicles we use, sometimes in multiple layers, to accomplish both your tax planning and asset protection goals:

• Credit shelter trusts and marital trusts
• Irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILIT)
• Charitable remainder and charitable lead trusts (CRT and CLT)
• Qualified personal residence trusts (QPRT)
• Family limited partnerships and limited liability companies (FLLP and FLLC)
• Grantor retained annuity trusts (GRAT) and grantor retained unitrusts (GRUT)

Related Article: How an Asset Protection Trust Protects Your Assets

Plan for Your Family’s Future

Experienced legal counsel can apprise you of the available options and take the lead in planning and implementing your chosen essential and advanced estate planning strategies. It is also our goal to bring together and coordinate your team of advisors in collaboration to efficiently incorporate tax, legal, business, and financial perspectives and planning goals. This will result in a thorough and efficient planning process and provide you with valuable peace of mind, knowing that your wishes and goals for the transfer and protection of your family’s wealth are achieved.

Wherever you are in the Hampton Roads area, contact our Virginia Beach law office at 757-687-8888 or use the online contact form to schedule a consultation today.