Estate Planning Services

Providing Personalized Estate Plans For Northern Nevada

You spend your life building a family, creating a business, growing your wealth, and supporting the people and causes that you care about. You need to make certain that your life of hard work allows you to leave behind a strong legacy. The estate planning services at Anderson, Dorn & Rader, Ltd. can help to make that happen.

Estate planning is important for people of all ages, from young parents to older seniors to those just starting out in their careers. Anderson, Dorn & Rader, Ltd. can help you to make a plan that is right for you and your loved ones and to keep that plan updated as your life changes and your family grows.

Our Reno estate planning lawyers help you to use legal tools to grow and protect your wealth and to keep your loved ones safe and secure in times of uncertainty. Give us a call at (775)823-9455 to get started on your personalized estate plan.

start planning today

You spend your life building a family, creating a business, growing your wealth, and supporting the people and causes that you care about. You need to make certain that your life of hard work allows you to leave behind a strong legacy. The estate planning services at Anderson, Dorn & Rader, Ltd. can help to make that happen.

Estate planning is important for people of all ages, from young parents to older seniors to those just starting out in their careers. Anderson, Dorn & Rader, Ltd. can help you to make a plan that is right for you and your loved ones and to keep that plan updated as your life changes and your family grows.

Our Reno estate planning lawyers help you to use legal tools to grow and protect your wealth and to keep your loved ones safe and secure in times of uncertainty. Give us a call at 775-823-9455 to get started on your personalized estate plan.

start planning today

Why Is Estate Planning Important?

If you have yet to create your own estate plan, you are not alone. Over half of all Americans do not have a plan in place, despite acknowledging the need for one. Often, the reason for the absence of a plan boils down to the fact that people don’t understand why they need an estate plan. A better understanding of the benefits you gain by having an estate plan may motivate you to get started on your plan.

Even the most rudimentary estate plan guarantees that you decide what will happen to your estate assets when you are gone instead of allowing the state to decide for you using the state intestate succession laws. That’s only the beginning of the numerous and varied benefits an estate plan offers. A comprehensive estate plan can also help protect your hard-earned assets from a variety of threats, assist you in planning for your retirement, and provide for your loved ones when you cannot do so yourself.

What Components Should Be Included in My Estate Plan?

Considering the highly personal nature of estate planning, it is always wise to consult with an experienced estate planning attorney to ensure that your estate plan accomplishes all your unique goals and objectives. There are, however, some components that are commonly found in a well thought out plan, including:

Incapacity planning — you might be surprised to learn what your odds are of suffering a period of incapacity long before you reach your retirement years. Incapacity planning allows you to decide now who would make healthcare decisions for you and who would take over control of your assets if that happened.

Asset protection — your assets may be may risk in more ways than you realize. The high cost of long-term care, gift and estate taxes, and even spendthrift beneficiaries could all put your assets at risk. Asset protection tools and strategies, however, can protect those assets from threats you may not even know exist.

Probate avoidance — one reason for creating an estate plan is to ensure that loved ones are financially secure if something happens to you. Probate, however, can tie up your assets for months, even years, completely defeating that goal. For this reason, probate avoidance strategies are a popular addition to the average estate plan.

sTART PLANNING TODAY

Estate Planning FAQ

Living trusts are most commonly used to avoid probate, an often time-consuming and costly court proceeding. Without a trust or some other type of estate planning tool, your estate must go through the probate process before you property can be distributed to your heirs. But before you decide to create a living trust, you need to be aware of some of the pros and cons of a living trust. A Reno living trust and estate planning attorney can explain all of your options if you are seeking to avoid probate.

What exactly is a living trust?

A “living trust” is basically one type of trust that goes into effect while you are still alive, as opposed to only becoming effective after your death. As with all other kinds of trusts, the property that is transferred to the trust will be held and managed by the trustee you select, until it is time to transfer that property to your heirs. Typically, a living trust only covers particular property or assets, not the entire estate.

What are the advantages of a living trust?

The primary advantage to establishing a living trust is the ability to avoid probate. By creating a living trust, you can save significant time and money. You can also avoid many potential problems that often arise when the assets of an estate are distributed to heirs. There are also many tax advantages that can be gained from a living trust. Living trusts have the potential of reducing estate taxes. They are also much more private than the probate process, which is a matter of public record. So, if maintaining privacy is important for you, then living trust attorneys will often recommend this type of trust.

Do living trusts provide legal protection for assets?

Another big advantage of creating a living trust is that it comes with certain legal protections that other estate planning tools may not offer. Because a living trust is a legal document, it is enforceable by the court much like a contract. So, if there are any challenges to asset transfers, the court will enforce the terms of the trust document, as the best evidence of your intentions.

Are there any disadvantages to having a living trust?

As helpful as a living trust may be, it does have its disadvantages. One disadvantage is that having a living trust alone is usually not sufficient. Most people name themselves as the initial trustee of their own living trust. That way they can maintain control over their property during their lifetime. However, your successor trustee (who takes over after your death) may not have the power to manage any property that was not included in the living trust before your death. For that you would likely need for a power of attorney.

Who controls the proper I transfer to my living trust?

The great thing about a living trust is that you can designate anyone you choose as your trustee, including yourself. In fact, in most cases people name themselves trustee of their living trust in order to retain complete control of their assets. They can continue to buy and sell assets and remove them from the trust whenever they see fit. If you are married, you can also designate your spouse as the co-trustee. In order for the trust to continue to operate after your death, you need only designate a successor trust to take over upon your death.

Do I need a Reno estate planning attorney to help create my living trust?

Although creating a living trust requires simply transferring the title or ownership of your assets to the trust, the language of the trust agreement needs to be properly drafted. For that reason, it is wise to seek legal advice from an estate planning attorney in Reno. Living trust attorneys are skilled and experienced at creating this valuable estate planning tool and will make sure it is done correctly.

Estate Planning Services

Providing Personalized Estate Plans For Northern Nevada

Our Estate Planning Services

Estate & Gift Tax Planning

Inheritance Estate Planning

Incapacity Planning

IRA & Retirement Planning

Business Planning

Legacy Wealth Planning

LGBTQ Estate Planning Services

Special Needs Planning

Estate Pet Planning

Nevada Gun Trust Planning