A Special Needs Trust is a legal document written by an attorney that details how the assets in the Trust will be distributed to the beneficiary (or special needs person). The most important thing to remember about a Special Needs Trust is that it ensures that assets can be received and used for the beneficiary as intended without jeopardizing governmental benefits. By utilizing a properly drafted Special Needs Trust, the disabled person can continue to receive government benefits (Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid, and other services) even though the assets in the Special Needs Trust are over the eligibility limits to receive government benefits.  A Special Needs Trust is a document that contains rules that must be followed for property held in the Trust for the beneficiary. Special Needs Trusts can be utilized in an estate plan (your Will) or in an emergency like when a disabled person receiving government benefits

Legislation called the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act was passed as part of the government’s spending bill last year and took effect on January 1, 2020. This intent of this legislation is to strengthen retirement security for many individuals. However, required distribution rules have changed mostly for the worse for individuals.  Although the changes may not affect your current situation, they likely will affect your estate plan later on and will affect how you inherit assets. Key provisions in the SECURE Act that could affect your estate plan include: Required Minimum Distributions Delayed – The age by which individuals were required to begin Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) has been increased from 70 ½ to 72. This change only applies to individuals who turn 70 ½ in 2020 or later.  This change could make a Roth IRA conversion more advantageous for those under age 72. Eliminates “Stretch”

The first thing many people say when they hear that we are estate planning lawyers is, “but I don’t have an estate!”   You may not own a vast “estate” like the enormous mansions the word calls to mind, but almost everyone has an estate.  Merriam-Webster defines an estate as “the assets and liabilities left by a person at death.” Basically anything a person owns in his or her name alone (cars, houses, bank accounts, debts) becomes part of his or her estate when they die.  It’s our job to guide you in how to marshall and distribute your assets after you pass and how to pay off any necessary debts from those assets. The process of creating an estate plan is pretty painless.  We typically begin with an initial meeting with our clients that lasts about an hour.  In the meeting, we first ask our clients for some biographical

One of the first things to consider when you write a Will is who should be the executor.  But first, what does an executor do? The role of an executor is to administer your estate after you die.  It is likely that the first thing your executor would do is probate your Will. Probating the Will occurs in the county that the decedent resided.  Herr Potts and Potts helps clients who are executors gather the information needed to probate the Will by petitioning the Register of Wills in the county the decedent lived in.   The many jobs of the executor can include facilitating the funeral or burial, selling real estate, using estate assets to pay the decedent’s bills and taxes, selling tangible assets, gathering the decedent’s assets, and filing local and Federal tax returns.  Along the way in administering the estate, having experienced legal representation will will be valuable