Madison Estate Planning Lawyer

We at King Law Offices, LLC provide comprehensive estate planning services tailored to each client’s needs.  Below is a list of some of the most common estate planning tools.  Also see our Trusts, Wills, Probate, and Ethical Wills pages.

Wills and supporting documents
Estate plans include analysis of ownership of assets and beneficiary designations as well as application of tax law. Documents available are as follows:

• Will, without federal estate tax planning, where plan of distribution is outright to adult beneficiaries
• Will, without federal estate tax planning, , including trust for minor beneficiaries, or when business planning or disability planning is discussed.
• Will, without federal estate tax planning, including trust for person with disabilities or incompetent beneficiary
• Will, including federal estate tax planning, without trust for minor beneficiaries and without business or disability planning.
• Will, including federal estate tax planning and trust for minor beneficiaries.
• Will, including federal estate tax planning and when more than one testamentary trust, disability, options to purchase or other special planning needs exist.
• Will packages for estates needing special or extensive planning - Fees will be quoted at the end of initial appointment.

Living Trusts and other probate avoidance techniques

When to Use a Living Trust

Living trust packages include the living trust, pour over will(s), durable power(s) of attorney for financial matters, durable power(s) of attorney for health care, a marital property agreement (if applicable), and various other documents necessary to complete the total estate plan. We also help you transfer all of your assets to the trust. You will receive a complete Estate Organizer Binder containing all documents, personal information, and instructions to the successor trustee which provides information family members need if a disability or death occurs. Up-front, guaranteed package prices are available on living trusts.

Planning for the Child with Special Needs

Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts
When the estate of an individual (including death benefits of life insurance) exceeds or will exceed applicable exclusion amounts for federal estate tax purposes, it is wise to remove life insurance from your ownership. If outright gifting of insurance policies to beneficiaries is not practical, placing life insurance policies (or other assets) in an irrevocable trust may be extremely advantageous. A life insurance trust may also be utilized to purchase and hold new life insurance which will eventually go to beneficiaries to be used to pay federal estate tax when it comes due.

Family Limited Partnerships / Family LLCs
If you are concerned about transferring large amounts of wealth to your heirs, then Family Limited Partnerships or Family LLCs may be good planning tools to use.  These structures allow you to share management and income from the assets with your heirs while you are alive, giving the heirs a stake and some experience in the value and methods of asset control.  These structures also allow the assets to be transferred to your heirs with less or no estate or gift tax because of discounts in valuation for tax purposes.

Amendments and Updates to Estate Plans
Due to changes in law and in personal goals, finances and family situations, a periodic review of your estate plan is wise. We will review the estate plan and update documents as needed.

Powers of Attorney

• Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care. This document authorizes others to make medical decisions, to make life support decisions, and to sign nursing home admission papers if you were unable to do so. Unless the document is signed, if you were unable to sign admission papers, if nursing home care was needed, guardianship court proceedings would be required in order to be admitted to a nursing home.
  
• Durable Power of Attorney for Financial Matters. This document authorizes others to act on your behalf, to sign financial documents for you. The power of attorney may be drafted to be effective immediately, or it may be drafted to be effective only if two physicians state in writing that you are unable to handle your own matters due to I incapacity. This document may authorize gifts to be made on your behalf or may be very restrictive, authorizing only specific actions.

Community Property Agreements

• All marital property agreements classifying all assets as marital property, to forgive all capital gains tax on appreciated assets of both spouses upon the death of one spouse*, and to clarify that the intention is for all assets to be community property (equally owned by both spouses).
  
  *One-year waiting period may apply to obtain tax benefit, so capital gains forgiveness may not be effective if death occurs less than one year after marital property agreement is signed.
  
• All marital property agreements with non-probate transfer of assets provisions, which incorporate plan of distribution from will, avoids full probate on assets which incorporate plan of distribution from will, avoids full probate on assets (although a petition must be filed with the court), avoids capital gain on appreciated assets and clarifies intentions on ownership described above. (Only available in conjunction with will.)
  
• Marital property agreements classifying some or all assets as individual property to protect interests of non-spouse beneficiaries, to keep assets separate in the event of divorce, and to retain separate control of assets brought into the marriage. Fee shown is minimum retainer for drafting of document per specifications and representation of one spouse. Retainer will be applied to hourly fees. Other spouse will need to retain separate attorney.

Trust Administration
Services are available to help with paperwork when spouses used a joint revocable trust and one spouse passes away. It is wise at this time to review federal estate tax issues, to verify that all assets are in the trust, to review and update documents as needed, and to determine value of assets. Establishing date of death values is necessary to assess any possible federal estate tax issues and to confirm the new tax basis of assets. This allows the surviving spouse to sell inherited appreciated assets for date of death value and pay NO CAPITAL GAINS TAX. Future gain will only be taxable for the amount of gain since date of death.

Trust Termination
Services are available to help with the paperwork required to terminate a trust after death. If all assets are in the trust, no probate will be required. However, it is still necessary to make a list of assets and values, file required tax returns, pay debts and expenses, account for assets, and distribute assets as designated in the plan of distribution.

Business Planning
We can help you plan for the transfer of ownership of your business upon the death of an owner, or at any time.  We create corporation, LLC, and partnership agreements and amendments to specify restrictions on transfer, procedure, and values to be used if one partner wants to sell out, and provisions regarding procedures if a partner becomes disabled or dies.

• Buy-sell/corporate redemption agreements outline rights of partners/shareholders if a party wants to sell or if a party becomes disabled or dies.
  
• Lease agreements in regard to business interests may be used to allow the senior generation to retain ownership and delay or escape capital gains tax, yet transfer day-to-day operations and management responsibilities to children or others.

Ethical Wills
These documents tell your family about your life and your values. They help you pass down the wisdom and stories of yourself and your family through the generations. They can be short volumes written by our memorist or professionally videotaped interviews.

King Law Offices, LLC

1667 Capital Avenue, Suite A
Madison, WI 53705
Toll Free: 888-811-4779
Phone: 608-233-9588
Click here for driving directions

Based in Madison, Wisconsin, King Law Offices, LLC, serves clients in Janesville, Watertown, Jefferson, Fort Atkinson, Portage, Baraboo, Reedsburg, Richland Center, Mount Horeb, Monroe, Beaver Dam, Dane County, Rock County, Green County, Iowa County, Richland County, Sauk County, Columbia County, Dodge County, Jefferson County, and throughout southern Wisconsin.