Estate Planning Law

The estate planning attorneys of Nassie Law offer personalized advice and practical solutions for families and small businesses throughout the state.

Disputes Over Wills and Trusts

Even when a person has a well-drafted will or a properly constructed trust instrument, his or her death may still set off a round of disputes that can tear the remaining family apart. The opportunity for conflict can be particularly great when there are significant assets involved. However, disputes can arise even over the most modest estates.

Issues in estate litigation

At Nassie Law our attorneys handle all types of estate litigation. We help families and heirs resolve problems that are interfering with the winding up of the estate. We represent heirs, executors, administrators and trustees in matters involving:

Dissolution of a family business to wind up an estate

Significant real estate holdings and other assets

Contested wills and trusts

Charges of breach of fiduciary duty

Charges of undue influence

Charges of lack of capacity

Coercion of the testator

Fraud

Finding heirs

Acting as executors and administrators

In addition to handling matters such as these, our attorneys act as executors and administrators for clients upon request. This experience enhances the ability of our firm to provide effective representation during any dispute over the disposition of an estate.

Creative fee arrangements to allay your financial concerns

We urge people who are unsure about the legality of a will or trust under which they inherit to consult an attorney. We make the same suggestion to people who believe they should benefit from an estate but have not. At Nassie Law we have developed a number of fee arrangements that minimize the cost to clients in estate litigation matters. We do this so that people with concerns about the administration of an estate or the probating of a will can consult an attorney readily.

Wills and Trusts

Nassie Law’s Trusts and Estate Practice works with individuals and families to create custom designed estate plans tailored to each client’s unique desires and circumstances. We pride ourselves on listening carefully to your goals, concerns and objectives, and we help identifiy issues and options to consider, taking into account your family dynamics, family objectives, real world practicalities, in addition to tax considerations.

Our Focus

We recognize that every client is unique.  At Nassie Law, our focus is on you:

What legacy do you want to leave, philanthropic and familial?

How do you want to be remembered?

How do you want to provide for your children when you are no longer there to provide

for them?

For business owners, how would you like to transition your business after your death? Who will run the business if you are unable to do so? How will the family reap the economic value of your interest in the business after you die?

Are you concerned about your children’s financial responsibility? Do you want your children’s ultimate inheritance to be protected from their creditors?

Who would you select to manage your financial affairs if you became unable to do so, and who would you choose to be the alternate if that person was unavailable?

Who would you select to make medical decisions for you if you are unable to make them for yourself, and who would you choose to be the alternative?

What We Do

We prepare living trusts, will, powers of attorney, and other instruments that will assist you in achieving your goals. We also prepare irrevocable trusts to help you achieve your lifetime giving, wealth transfer and philanthropic goals.  We advise clients in post-death administration of trusts and estates, have experience in representing trustees in trust administration matters, and we represent trustees and beneficiaries in trust and estate disputes.

ESTATE PLANNING LAWYERS FOR SAME-SEX OR UNMARRIED COUPLES

If you’re in a committed same-sex relationship, or if you’re unmarried and cohabiting, you stand to benefit from advice about your options for protecting your interests in the event of a breakup, death or medical emergency. Contact us for a consultation.

Same-sex and unmarried couples can anticipate and resolve these problems through sound estate planning. You can achieve important objectives through any combination of the following:

Last will and testament to express your intentions about asset transfers, guardianship of minor children and funeral arrangements

Advance health care directive (living will) to designate your partner as authorized to take part in your medical treatment and make important health care decisions if you’re incapacitated

Durable financial powers of attorney to authorize each partner to handle money matters on behalf of the other during a period of incapacity

Recorded property agreements to establish the nature and value of each partner’s interest in real estate and other important assets

Beneficiary designations under insurance policies, investment accounts and retirement accounts

Revocable living trust to take title to assets, keep them out of probate, and designate successor and incapacity trustees as backup to the designations in your other estate planning documents