Your estate is made up of everything you own, including intangible assets, real and personal property. The process of estate planning is simply identifying all you own and making a plan to manage these assets during your life and after, as well as ensuring tax benefits are considered in all decision-making. Our Estate Planning Services are extensive and include:
• Wills, Living Wills, Powers of Attorney & Other Planning Documents
• Formation of Living, Irrevocable and Charitable Trusts
• Creation of Generation-Skipping Bequests
• Business Succession Planning
• Charitable Gift Planning
• Elder Law & Disability Planning
• Special Needs Trusts
• Trust Reformations & Terminations
• Caregiver Agreements
• Development of Premarital Agreements
• Post-Mortem Planning
A little more detail about trusts. Some people may have or benefit from a trust in order to have a third party manage assets. Examples of trust situations may include a parent setting up a trust for underage children until they reach a certain age, someone who wants to leave assets to a charity, or even a business succession plan. Caroline can advise and assist in planning, creating, terminating, or handling trust controversies as needed. Please call the office at 828-513-1600 to schedule your appointment and discuss your needs in order to be guided on the necessary steps for your situation.
FAQs for Estate Planning Services:
Can we meet to discuss my situation? YES, Caroline Knox meets with all clients after looking over your personal information worksheet, so that she can make recommendations specific to your health and financial situation. Included here is a link to our Estate Planning Personal Information Worksheet for individuals and couples. This worksheet should be completed & submitted with the requested information prior to scheduling a meeting. Upon receipt of the completed information, please expect a call to schedule your meeting at our next available time. Just a heads up, we are usually scheduling a few months out.
What is the cost for the initial meeting? This initial 45 minute consultation is $250. You will be given a recommendation of how to proceed with your estate planning and all associated costs and can determine how to proceed from there.
Why do you need so much personal information up front? We realize we do ask for a lot of information up front; however, in order to make the most of your time with Caroline, she prefers to familiarize herself with your situation and prepare notes and questions to discuss during the meeting. In addition, if you choose to move forward with additional services, there is information the estate planning team needs in this document.
What happens next if I use your services? Caroline will share her attorney notes with the Knox Law estate planning team. This team works on drafting all the documents you have requested, and they will be your contact if you have questions after your meeting. You will receive a copy of the draft documents once completed for you to review. Once approved, a 30 minute meeting with one of the team members will be scheduled in order to sign and notarize the legal documents. We will process all the paperwork and keep the originals in our vault file. You will receive digital copies of your completed documents.