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You’ve worked hard. Now it’s time to make sure your assets are preserved – both to benefit you during your lifetime, and to provide for the next generation. Unfortunately, estate planning isn’t simple! You need someone you can trust to give you the best advice.
Often, inexperienced attorneys are overconfident in themselves. They make unwarranted assumptions and cut corners which deserve greater care. The attorneys at McCarthy & Akers, however, have been providing estate planning services to our clients for 18 years, and know to approach your matter carefully. We believe in doing things the right way.
Over our years of experience, we often find clients coming to us after a frustrating experience with other attorneys. Usually, this revolves around a lack of communication from the other attorney. Attorneys who don’t explain the progress they make, or clarify what needs to come next, are not good for your peace of mind. McCarthy & Akers, however, maintains a high level of professionalism: we’ll respond to your messages within 24 hours, and keep you abreast of developments.
When it comes to attorneys, a team is better than a single practitioner. Even within estate planning there are different specializations, so with a team of attorneys, you can receive the best possible treatment. No one can be an expert in everything, but our team members can draw on each other’s experience.
You can learn more about the LCPLFA on their website.
Estate planning is a process involving planning for the transfer of an individual’s property after death. It involves the counsel of professional advisors, who are familiar with your desires and concerns, your assets, and family structure.
It may involve a will and / or trust and the services of a variety of professionals: your attorney, accountant, financial planner, life insurance advisor, banker, and broker.
An estate is the net worth of a person at any point in time, alive or dead. Once an individual has passed away, it consists of all property owned at death before it is distributed by a will, trust, or intestacy laws (the laws of descent and distribution). This is the sum of a person’s assets; legal rights, interests and entitlements.
An estate may contain real property (real estate, houses, or investment properties) or personal property (bank accounts, securities, jewelry and automobiles, etc.).
Whether or not you need an estate planning lawyer to help depends on the extent and complexity of your assets and intentions regarding administration of your estate.
While it may be possible for individuals to draft some estate planning documents on their own, it is important to consult with legal professionals to ensure that your estate is administered as you would wish.
A lawyer’s role in estate planning involves advising clients as to the options available and recommendations to accomplish clients’ objectives and assisting clients with drafting and implementing legal documents, including trusts and wills.
While lawyers are not required in order to plan your estate, it may be best to work with an estate planning attorney in ensure that your wishes are carried out. This is especially true if your estate is large, complex, or contains unusual assets.
An executor is a fiduciary appointed by the courts to carry out the terms of the will. Typically, this person has been nominated in the will by the deceased person. There's no guarantee, however, that the nominated individual will end up being the qualified fiduciary to carry out the terms of the will.
In a lot of cases, the executor doesn't get paid anything. Oftentimes, a family member will be appointed and the decedent will ask that the executor not be paid because they're doing a favor for their family, or siblings. Under the statutes, every executor is entitled to get paid if they demand payment. This is then based on a percentage of the overall estate, so the larger the estate, the more potential money for an executor to be paid. The person preparing the will can also state a fee to be paid directly to the executor, which could be different than statutory rate.
In most cases; yes, but not in all cases.
There are certain statutory benefits that entitle a spouse to at least a minimum distribution from a spouse's estate. A spouse can be disinherited only to the extent that they're not entitled to these benefits. So, as long as they haven't waived that minimum benefit or signed some type of prenuptial agreement that would have waived it, then they can't be completely disinherited.
No, Virginia doesn't have an inheritance tax. Families of the deceased, however, pay fees which would equate to a tax when they file a will or go through the probate process. Avoiding probate saves a substantial amount of money, despite no inheritance tax.
To disclaim an inheritance, the beneficiary must officially communicate and give notice that they do not want a particular portion or all of their inheritance from an estate. This notice must be in writing and recorded at the courthouse, describing the estate and what portion of the estate is being given up. The share of the disclaiming beneficiary will then pass through the will or probate onto the next person(s) entitled to inherit; this could be grandchildren, siblings, or a new spouse, etc.
On the short end, a quick probate can take up to four months. On the long end, it can take as long as a year or two, depending on the circumstances.
Someone can avoid probate by not owning anything at the time of their death. This means, either going ahead and gifting all assets to your beneficiaries during your life (so you don't own anything at the time of death) or putting them into a trust. With a trust, the legal title is in the name of the trust and not your name. So, when you pass away, there are no assets in your name at your death. By putting beneficiary designations on assets, you can avoid probate, so that those assets immediately are transferred to the beneficiary named on the beneficiary designation. These assets can be a life insurance designation, a 401K, pay on death deed, transfer on death, or bank account designation, etc.
The cost of probate depends on the assets and the complexity of the estate, but it can typically range anywhere from $3,000 to upwards of $15,000 to $20,000. The cost of probate includes filing fees, paying the clerk, transaction costs (paying the executor to go through the process), as well as fees to pay the commissioner of accounts. Oftentimes you will need to pay a tax professional to file tax returns, pay an attorney to assist with filling out the documents properly and transferring assets properly. It can also entail costs like paying for realtors to sell property, or cleaners to clean out assets and auctioneers or appraisers to value and auction off personal property.
The cost of probate depends on the assets and the complexity of the estate, but it can typically range anywhere from $3,000 to upwards of $15,000 to $20,000. The cost of probate includes filing fees, paying the clerk, transaction costs (paying the executor to go through the process), as well as fees to pay the commissioner of accounts. Oftentimes you will need to pay a tax professional to file tax returns, pay an attorney to assist with filling out the documents properly and transferring assets properly. It can also entail costs like paying for realtors to sell property, or cleaners to clean out assets and auctioneers or appraisers to value and auction off personal property.
Any estate that has assets of less than $50,000 is considered a small estate.
In the event that there is less than $50,000 of value in the estate, rather than going through the probate process, a beneficiary or a fiduciary can fill out an affidavit stating who the heirs or beneficiaries of the state are. They then send that affidavit to whoever's holding the asset or the property of the deceased person and have them turn over the asset to the person making the affidavit. The one who makes the affidavit is responsible for distributing the property to the appropriate beneficiaries. This ultimately serves as a substitute for people going through probate.
Yes and no. To a certain extent, all spouses in Virginia are responsible for the care of their spouse. There's a presumption that they are responsible for it, but there are limits, at which point they don't have to pay any more than is required. So, there are statutory and common law limits to what a spouse would have to pay. By and large, however, you are responsible for your spouse's medical costs.
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Our attorneys have tried cases at all levels of the Virginia Courts including appeals before the Virginia Supreme Court.
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The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.
