Estate Planning, Wills, and Trusts

No one likes to think about aging and facing their mortality, but putting a plan in place now can provide peace of mind and provide you control over your future. Every generation needs to plan. For younger people, it’s their family. For middle-aged people, the concern is typically minimizing complexity and cost. With seniors, it’s time for a final check to be sure everything is in order. Be sure to visit our YouTube channel. We have many videos that can help answer your estate planning questions. 

Estate Planning
Estate Planning is much more than simply drafting a will to determine who will receive your assets upon your death. Concerns such as asset preservation, probate administration, incapacity planning, liquidity planning, and Federal and State tax planning should be reviewed and discussed. One should also consider the impact of jointly held assets, verifying that proper beneficiary designations are in place and considering the need for trusts. A proper plan coordinates all of the pieces.

Kahan Kerensky Capossela, LLP estate planning attorneys have decades of experience to address your concerns and help you make sense of the options you have to accomplish your personal, financial, and asset transfer goals in the most cost and tax effective manner. We’ll share different strategies you can use to transfer your belongings after you die and also help you control and protect your estate during your lifetime. We implement the use of wills, trusts, business entities, deeds, and changes in the beneficiary designations of life insurance, retirement plan benefits, and other assets in order to meet your individual goals.

Everybody’s situation is unique, and there is a danger to the use of form documents. The special circumstances of our clients are addressed in the development of their estate plans, whether they are the family business owners, farmers, land owners, individuals, or clients who’ve been impacted by divorce, second marriage, stepchildren, etc. Our goal at Kahan Kerensky Capossela has always been to obtain the optimum result in the best interest of our clients. Whether your estate is modest or substantial, KKC is committed to assist with the array of choices in the distribution of your estate.

Below, Attorney Allison Poirier answers some of our most-often asked estate planning questions.  

Incapacity Planning
While estate plans typically focus on events that will happen years down the road, incapacity planning is more about the here and now, since anyone at any age can be affected by a serious illness or injury. Through the use of trusts, powers of attorney, and advance directives such as living wills and designations of health care agents and conservators, our clients can achieve peace of mind, knowing that individuals whom they trust will be able to act for them should they become unable to act for themselves. Watch Attorney Allison Poirier's webinar on Incapacity Planning Documents. 

Long-Term Health Care Planning
Our attorneys analyze how best to finance the costs of long-term care while avoiding the financial hardship of the caretaker spouse or other family member. Financing tools such as long-term health care insurance, reverse annuity mortgages, and planning for Medicaid (Title XIX) assistance are explained so clients are fully aware of their options. For more information, watch Attorney Bill Dakin's webinar: Long-Term Care Planning: It's Not Just for Seniors.

Keep Your Estate Plan Up-to-Date
Just like you get yearly physicals to keep on top of any health issues, you should also conduct regular checkups on your estate plan. Pull it out every year or so and make sure the information is up to date and still meets your needs and desires. Use our handy checklist for a quick review. 

Our Estate Planning Questionnaire can be filled out and faxed to Eva Holmes at 860-647-8302 or mailed to 45 Hartford Turnpike, P.O. Box 3811, Vernon, CT 06066. You may contact Eva directly at 860-812-1749.