Estate Planning & Probate

Estate Planning

Proper estate planning allows you to manage and preserve your assets during your life, and enables you to efficiently transfer your assets to your intended beneficiaries. It also provides the possibility of decreasing estate taxes. At Meier, Kennedy & Quinn, we understand the importance of a good estate plan for our clients, allowing them to protect their loved ones and their inheritances. Some of the possibilities of proper estate planning include:

• Lifetime control over financial and health care decision making
  
• Legal documents to effectively and efficiently transfer assets (wills, trusts, etc.)
• Family maintenance and protection planning
• Business succession planning
• Charitable giving
• Estate and income tax planning

There is a wide variety of legal documents through which you can manage, protect, and distribute your assets. Contact one of our attorneys to discuss the best options for you and your family.

Probate Administration

When a loved one passes away, his or her estate will typically go through probate, a court proceeding through which a will is proved to be valid and the estate of the deceased is managed and distributed. The process includes collecting a decedent's assets, liquidating liabilities, paying necessary taxes, and distributing property to beneficiaries. The length of time needed to probate an estate depends on the size and complexity of the estate, and the schedule and rules of the probate court. Regardless of the size and complexity of the estate, one of our attorneys can help you through the process.

Attorneys practicing in this area:

Charles M. Bichler
John C. Gunderson
MaryCathleen G. Fenske
Samuel J. Nelson