Estate Planning, Wills & Trusts Attorneys in Reno, NV

As you accumulate more assets throughout your life, it becomes increasingly important to organize the management of your property for after death. This can be done through estate planning, which is the preparation of tasks that are created to manage one’s property after they die. At Carlson & Work of Reno, Nevada, our experienced estate planning attorneys can guide you through the estate planning process to ensure that your property ends up in the right hands after your death.

An irrevocable trust is a trust that cannot be revoked, meaning that once the terms are established, they cannot be changed or canceled. While this may seem like somewhat of a disadvantage, an irrevocable trust relinquishes your control of the assets, which places them out of reach in the event of litigation. You are able to designate a trustee, who manages the trust, and beneficiaries, which the trustee can be one of. Beneficiaries can be your family or
close friends, or even a business or nonprofit entity.

The goal of estate planning is to ensure that beneficiaries of the estate receive your assets in a way that minimizes taxing of the property. Ultimately, estate planning focuses on making sure that the right people get your property after your death.

Estate planning tasks include writing a will, creating a trust, naming a beneficiary, listing your assets, valuing your assets, setting up funeral arrangements, and naming a durable power of attorney to manage other assets. Assets that should be included and valued in your estate plan include:

• Houses (including the house that you live in, any land that you own and any other real estate that you own)
• Vehicles (including cars, motorcycles, and boats)
• Stocks, bonds, and mutual funds
• Collectibles (including coins, art, antiques, and trading cards)
• Life insurance
• Debt
• Pension
• Ownership in any businesses

While not everyone necessarily needs an estate plan, you don’t have to have a large estate to have an estate plan. The choice to have an estate plan is a personal decision. If you are considering creating an estate plan, reach out to the Reno, Nevada estate attorneys of Carlson & Work for advice on the process.

Estate planning is beneficial for several reasons, including:

• Providing for spouse and children
• Preserving family wealth
• Leaving a legacy behind
• Naming the guardian of minor children
• Your estate is large: If the value of your estate is large, having an estate plan could help you avoid estate taxes.
• You have children: If you believe that your children are not old enough or mature enough to handle a large inheritance, an estate plan can make provisions through a trust to remedy this issue.
• You want to avoid probate: When you have a will, you must go through probate court to attain anything in the will. Probate can result in a loss of privacy because your information becomes a public record in court. Probate is also expensive and oftentimes, a long process. Estate plans avoid probate court.
• You want to give your property to charity: Estate plans allow you to name charities as beneficiaries if you wish to give your property to a charity.

• It minimizes probate expenses.
• It minimizes delays in inheriting property.
• It maintains privacy.
• It is more detailed and extensive than a will.

• It can be complex.
• It can be expensive to create.