At its most fundamental level, estate planning is about controlling the otherwise-uncontrollable. Death is inevitable; disability is increasingly probable as we age. When death or incapacity occurs, what happens to us, to our property, and to our loved ones? Planning in advance and taking advantage of our many applicable federal and state laws allows us to control what happens and name the person(s) who will effectively step into our shoes and make sure our plans are carried out as intended.

Many people think, “I need to get a Will, but estate planning is for those folks with more money than me.” However, estate planning does not involve simply getting a Will, a trust, or a power of attorney, and you don’t have to have vast wealth in order for estate planning to be both beneficial and critical. The essence of estate planning is figuring out what you want to see happen in the event of your death or incapacity, and then taking the necessary steps to ensure that your desired outcome actually happens. These steps usually include drafting and signing various legal documents, but the documents are simply tools used to carry out the plan. The plan itself should be the main focus.

Our firm’s philosophy is that our clients should be given the opportunity to control what happens during their lifetimes and after their deaths, to the extent desired, and make the right decisions for themselves and their loved ones based on their actual goals and desires, and situations. Our purpose is to educate and help our clients understand the issues they face and their many options for dealing with those issues. Our commitment to education cannot only be seen in our client consultations, but also in our newsletters and our website which contain detailed articles about the issues facing our clients. We encourage you to use our website to learn more about estate and long term care planning so you can make the right decisions for yourself and your loved ones.

Of course, in addition to education, you need experienced, knowledgeable, and passionate estate planning and elder law attorneys to assist you with considering and structuring your desired estate plan. We are here to help you with this very important process, offering complementary estate planning consultations, which are focused on helping you come to the right decisions for yourself. To schedule an appointment, please contact our Office Administrator at (678) 720-0750 or info@morgandisalvo.com.

For those that would like to explore and become more educated on estate planning related topics, let the journey begin. When we meet with an individual or family to help them develop an estate plan, here is a sample of the issues we may discuss, regardless of the size of their estates.