Estate Planning

ESTATE PLANNING IN LEXINGTON, KY BENEFITS EVERYONE

Estate planning may not be your first thought, but preparing for the future is wise – and simpler than you might think. Provide for your children, leave your business in good hands and ensure your wishes are respected. For an estate planning attorney in Lexington, Kentucky, call 859-559-4648. Attorney Peter Brackney walks you through the process of:

Selecting an executor
Creating an estate plan
Establishing trusts
Providing for minor children

There’s an efficient way to distribute your money. Our local attorney updates your last will and testament, maintains your living will and oversees healthcare proxy.

More than anything else, we tend to avoid thinking about death and taxes. But these two things cannot be avoided. Benjamin Franklin said that “in this world nothing can be certain except death and taxes.”

Given this certain eventuality, doesn’t it make sense to be prepared?

With the proper estate planning, you can ensure that the assets you’ve worked so hard to acquire during your life go to those whom you intend when you pass away. Taxing authorities like the Internal Revenue Service and the Kentucky Revenue Cabinet are looking to take the share of a decedent’s estate, but that can be either avoided or mitigated with the right planning by a Lexington Kentucky estate planning attorney.

But even if your net worth isn’t in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, having the proper estate planning is vitally important. In your will you can designate what would happen to your minor children in the event that you pass away. This can help avoid confusion and dispute within an already grieving family.

With the proper planning and the preparation of the documents, Brackney Law Office, PLLC can help you to develop a blueprint for those you care about to follow with regard to your wishes about medical treatment, the distribution of your property, and the future care of your pets and minor children.

Other documents can help ensure your wishes are carried out both in life and in death. The following list includes a few of the estate planning tools that Brackney Law Office, PLLC can assist you with:

• Last Will and Testament. A last will and testament explicitly sets forth how you want your assets to be divided and who you would want to become the guardian of your child should something happen to you.
• Living Will. A living will lays out to your family and physicians your wishes about the kind of medical care you wish to receive in the event you become incapacitated with an end-stage medical condition. Let your loved ones know your wishes far in advance with a properly prepared and executed living will.
• Heathcare Surrogate Designation. If you were incapacitated, is there someone (or more than one individual) whom you would want making your medical decisions? A healthcare surrogate designation does just that and works in conjunction with your living will.
• Power of Attorney. A power of attorney allows you to designate an individual, or more than one person, to act on your behalf in making decisions other than medical decision (that’s the purpose of a healthcare surrogate designation). A power of attorney designation can become effective immediately or it can become effective only in the event you become incapacitated.

Don’t leave these important things to chance.

At Brackney Law Office, we try to simplify the process for our clients while also providing experience and a solid work product. 

Case Evaluation

Each matter begins with a free case evaluation over the telephone or video conference. If you’ve already downloaded the fact-finder, you may have some basic questions to ask as you consider how to fill out the fact-finder. Or you may have questions about our office or our process. It is a zero-commitment opportunity for attorney and client to get to know one another.

Strategy Session

This meeting is usually conducted in-person or via Zoom upon request at the Brackney Law Office. The completed fact-finder launches our conversation about your family dynamics, the folks you are naming as fiduciaries in your plans, and your goals for how you want your assets distributed. We will also discuss the flat fee pricing available based on the documents which are appropriate for you and your family. . 

Assuming I am retained at this time, half of that fee will be due with the remaining balance being due at the time the documents are signed. If I am not retained, I do charge a $200 fee for the strategy session.

Document Preparation & Review

Once retained, I will work on preparing the documents we’ve outlined during the strategy session. Once a draft is prepared for your review, I will provide it to you for review. Emails, phone calls, and other communications may follow as revisions may be necessary before scheduling the document signing. 

Document Signing

In Kentucky, a self-proving will requires that the signature of the testator be witnessed by two disinterested persons. Also required is that the signatures of the testator and the two witnesses be notarized. Our office will secure witnesses and the notary for the will signing at our office. 

Take a proactive step by contacting an estate planning attorney at Brackney Law Office, PLLC, to schedule a consultation by scheduling a free telephonic case evaluation.