Wills, Trusts & Estates

V. Estate Planning
Estate Planning is the process of anticipating and arranging, during a person's life, for
the management and disposal of that person's estate during the person's life and at and
after death, while minimizing gift, estate, generation skipping transfer, and income tax.
Estate planning includes planning for incapacity as well as a process of reducing or
eliminating uncertainties over the administration of a probate and maximizing the value
of the estate by reducing taxes and other expenses. The ultimate goal of estate
planning can be determined by the specific goals of the client, and may be as simple or
complex as the client's needs dictate. Guardians are often designated for minor children
and beneficiaries in incapacity.
The law of estate planning overlaps to some degree with elder law, which additionally
includes other provisions such as long-term care.
Devices
Estate planning involves the will, trusts, beneficiary designations, powers of
appointment, property ownership (joint tenancy with rights of survivorship, tenancy in
common, tenancy by the entirety), gift, and powers of attorney, specifically the durable
financial power of attorney and the durable medical power of attorney.
More sophisticated estate plans may even cover deferring or decreasing estate taxes or
business succession.
Page 75 of 190