What About Your Business?

Do you own a business and want one or more of your children to inherit the business upon your passing?  Parents love all their children and sometimes leave the business equally to children who participate in the business and those who don’t.  This is a recipe for disaster.  This situation can destroy both the business and family relationships.  Contact Crane Elder Law Firm for a 15-minute consultation to discuss other options for leaving a fair and equitable inheritance to your loved ones.

Stop Procrastinating!

Every person in Georgia has an estate plan, whether it is one carefully thought out and planned by you or the plan set up by the State of Georgia. If you die without a will, Georgia law determines who inherits your assets. In Georgia, if you are married with children, and you die with no will, your spouse and descendants all inherit. This could leave as little as 1/2 or even only 1/3 of your assets to your surviving spouse! Contact Crane Elder Law Firm for a 15-minute consultation to discuss how to prevent this through a Last Will and Testament or a Trust.

What is an Estate Plan?

Estate plans often include a revocable trust to avoid probate, plan ahead in the event of a disability, or other reasons.  An attorney prepares the trust, and everyone signs it.  Next, the trust has to be funded, meaning the assets which will go into the trust must have a change of legal title.  For homes/real property, a deed must change ownership.  For financial accounts, the name will have to be changed with the custodian of those accounts.  For other assets like personal effects, it is a simple change by listing those assets in the trust document.  What happens if the ownership doesn’t change to that of the trust?  You have wasted money paying for the trust document, your assets remain a part of your estate, and your loved ones have to go through the probate process.  Contact Crane Elder Law Firm for a 15-minute consultation to discuss your situation.

Do You Need to Update Asset Ownership?

We all get older and circumstances change.  Perhaps your home is titled in both spouse’s names, but one is now deceased.  Is it time for the remaining spouse to add a child to that title so that it passes seamlessly to him/her?  Has a trust been established to hold title to the home, but the deed was never changed to show trust ownership?  Contact Crane Elder Law Firm for a 15-minute consultation to discuss your situation.

Plan for the Unexpected

Life does not follow a script.  Many people have had a Last Will and Testament and Power of Attorney documents prepared.  They plan for what will happen if their spouse suddenly becomes severely ill or dies.  Have you made your plan?  What if you name your children as your beneficiaries, but then one of them gets divorced?  Does one of your children have a problem managing money?  This could be a problem if you were to pass away and they were to inherit your assets.  Contact Crane Elder Law Firm for a 15-minute consultation to discuss your situation.