Legal

The Wills Law Firm offers a wide variety of Probate and Estate Planning Services.

PROBATE - When a person domiciled in Arkansas dies, the legal title of property from their estate has to be transferred to the intended beneficiary via a will. If there is no will, then it is left to state law to determine who is the legal heir to the estate and the property. Collectively, these processes are known as probate.

Probate is a process that is designed to enable the proper transfer of the decedent’s estate to the rightful beneficiaries. This process is also used to collect any taxes due on the transfer of the property. Outstanding debts can also be settled through probate, and usually a date is set by which time creditors must file any claims that they have. The probate process takes at least seven months, and the deadline for claims from creditors is normally six months from notification of the probate. The balance of the estate or property following settlement of these debts and taxes is then distributed to the beneficiaries. In short, the probate process is designed to transfer titled assets to the desired beneficiaries, ensure that outstanding taxes and debts are paid, and determine whether the last will and testament of the deceased is valid.

ESTATE PLANNING is a process involving the counsel of professional advisors who are familiar with your goals and concerns, your assets and how they are owned, and your family structure. It can involve the services of a variety of professionals, including your lawyer, accountant, financial planner, life insurance advisor, banker and broker. Estate planning covers the transfer of property at death as well as a variety of other personal matters and may or may not involve tax planning.   Estate planning services provided by this office include:

 WILLS – The core document most often associated with the estate planning process is the will.  Wills can be of various degrees of complexity and can be utilized to achieve a wide range of family and tax objectives. If you die intestate (without a will), your state’s laws of descent and distribution will determine who receives your property by default. A will provides for the distribution of property owned by you at the time of your death in any manner you choose.   If a will provides for the outright distribution of assets, it is sometimes characterized as a “simple will.” If the will establishes one or more trusts, it is often called a “testamentary trust will.” Alternatively, the will may leave probate assets to a preexisting living trust (created in your lifetime), in which case it is called a “pour over will.”  Our office can assist you with the proper planning, drafting and execution of your will.

TRUSTS – Trusts are legal arrangements in which you, the grantor, place assets in trust for the benefit of others, the beneficiaries. Simply put, a trust is a way of holding title to your assets.  Trusts are invaluable estate planning tools that can be set up under the provisions of your will, or established during your lifetime.  

The term “living trust” is generally used to describe a trust (a) which you can create during your lifetime, and (b) which you can revoke or amend whenever you wish to do so.  While you are living, the trustee (who may be you) is generally responsible for managing the property as you direct for your benefit. Upon your death, the trustee is generally directed to either distribute the trust property to your beneficiaries, or to continue to hold it and manage it for their benefit.

Like a will, a living trust can provide for the distribution of property upon your death. Unlike a will, it can also (a) provide you with a vehicle for managing your property during your life, and (b) authorize the trustee to manage the property and use it for your benefit (and your family) if you should become incapacitated, thereby avoiding the appointment of a guardian for that purpose. A living trust also allows you to keep assets out of the expensive probate process.

 A living trust is usually drafted by an estate attorney in coordination with your accountant and/or other financial professional. Your wishes, goals, and financial situation are reviewed so that a complete, carefully designed trust is enacted.  Our office can assist you with the proper planning, drafting and funding of your living trust.

POWERS OF ATTORNEY – An important part of lifetime planning is the Power of Attorney. These documents give one or more persons the power to act on your behalf. A Power of Attorney may be limited to a particular activity (e.g., closing the sale of your home) or general in its application, empowering one or more persons to act on your behalf in a variety of situations. It may take effective immediately or only upon the occurrence of a future event (e.g., a determination that you are unable to act for yourself).

A “Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare” is a specific Power of Attorney appointing a person to whom you grant authority to make medical decisions in the event you are unable to express your preferences. Most commonly, this situation occurs either because you are unconscious or because your mental state is such that you do not have the legal capacity to make your own decisions.

LIVING WILLS – A living will is your written expression of how you want to be treated in certain medical conditions. In Arkansas, this document permits you to express whether or not you wish to be given life-sustaining treatments in the event you are terminally ill or injured, to decide in advance whether you wish to be provided food and water via intravenous devices, and to give other medical directions that impact the end of life.  A living will applies in situations where the decision to use such treatments may prolong your life for a limited period of time and not obtaining such treatment would result in your death.

OTHER SERVICES – Other estate planning services we are able to provide include: Annual Gift Tax Exclusions, Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts, Family Limited Partnerships, Children’s or Grandchildren’s Irrevocable Education Trusts, Charitable Remainder Interest Trust, Fractional Interest Gifts.