The Need for a Good Trusts, Wills, Estate Planning, and Probate Attorney and How to Choose the Right One

We often stumble across news concerning family disputes over the estate of a deceased parent or relative. This news and stories are often a graphic display of the consequences of failure of the deceased’s will, trust, and estate attorney of the deceased. You can avoid stories like these by choosing the wills, trusts, estates, and probate attorney who is right for you.  We provide you a brief view of what an estate planning attorney does as follows:

What Does an Estate Planning Attorney Do?

An Estate Attorney is responsible for drafting and the execution of legal documents including an Israeli or international Last Will and Testament and a US trust, related to the disposition of properties and assets of a person after that person’s passing. In simpler words, an estate planning attorney helps a person in the execution of an Israeli last will and testament and US trust, to ensure his or her assets are properly allocated between the heirs, and settles – in an orderly way — the distribution of his/her assets, after death.

An Estate Planning Attorney, besides transferring a person’s assets to his/her beneficiaries, has a lot of other obligations to perform. Mentioned below are a few duties of an Estate Attorney.

• Tax Planning: An Estate Attorney helps his/her client to mitigate inheritance taxes or “death” taxes on their estate and thus reducing the overall estate tax burden.
• Wrapping-Up: An Estate Attorney is responsible for putting the deceased’s affairs to rest once and for all. This includes – paying off debts, canceling credit cards, etc.
• Probating the Will: Depending on the country in which assets are located or in which you reside, an estate attorney is expected to initiate legally validate (probate) the last will and testament. In states like Israel, it is mandatory for you to probate a will. So, if you are a citizen or resident of Israel, choose your estate planning attorney in Israelcarefully to avoid any disputes in the future.
•  Financial Power of Attorney.  It is important in the case of incapacity for a person to have a financial power of attorney, allowing the person’s fiduciary to deal with important financial issues in a case in which that person is unable to manage his or her own affairs due to incapacity (such as a temporary health issue affecting a person’s ability to deal with his or her affairs).
•  Living Will for Healthcare.  It is important in the case of incapacity for a person to have a power of attorney for healthcare issues to ensure that that person’s fiduciary can properly assist in key healthcare decisions if the person making the power of the attorney is temporarily unable to do so (incapacitated).
• Halachic Will.  According to most halachic authorities, it is also proper to have a “halachic will” mirroring the civil will.

There are many such responsibilities of an Estate Planning Attorney. The legal term for these responsibilities is – “Fiduciary Duties.” The duties of an Estate Planning Attorney is situational and depends on the complexity of the person’s personal situation and the personal situations of his or her heirs as well. This is why it becomes important to choose the right Estate Planning Attorney to avoid any legal or family disputes or imprudent planning for the future.

David Page and his team of international attorneys at David Page Law have an enormous experience in this field and can help you in the formation of your last will and testaments, US trusts, etc. both in Israel and the US. People often make the mistake of waiting until the last moment to hire an Estate Planning Lawyer. Avoid making this mistake and contact us by filling out this form today!

How to Choose the Right Estate Planning Attorney?

The field of Last Wills and Testaments, Trustrs, and Estate Planning is complex, and it is necessary to hire a professional to avoid experiencing the kinds of stories mentioned earlier. Here are a few qualities that you should look for in your Estate Attorney.

• Area of Expertise

 A poorly drafted or executed Last Will and Testament can end up in family disputes or a failure to provide properly and appropriately for the needs of the next generation. The field of Wills, Trusts, and Estate Planning can be really complex, and this is the reason you should hire an estate attorney who practices in this field. This field is a niche for David Page and his boutique team of highly-skilled allied attorneys at DavidPageLaw. They can help you with all kinds of services related to Last Wills and Testaments, Trusts, Estate Planning and Probate.

• Understanding and Trustworthy

 The Will of a person embodies his or her last wishes for the future, and this is why it becomes important that it is drafted clearly and properly.  For this, it is important for you to feel comfortable sharing key details and concerns with your attorney. A good Estate Planning Attorney is trustworthy and understands your interests and listens carefully to ensure that what is unstated and “between the lines” is carried out expertly, appropriately, and sensitively.

• Transparent and Updated

The process of drafting a will can be fraught and complex. A good Estate Planning Attorney keeps the process transparent and walks you through the whole process by explaining the minute details. The related laws keep changing and thus an estate planning attorney should remain updated with the amendments.

These are just a few qualities to look for in an Estate Planning Lawyer. David Page and his team of attorneys have many years of experience in the field and are licensed to practice both in Israel and the US. So if you are looking for an Estate Attorney in Israel, contact us by filling out this form now!