One of the most important things that you can do in your life to protect yourself and your family is to create an effective Estate Plan. Unfortunately, however, planning your estate and affairs for death or disability is easily neglected and procrastinated. Do not wait until you are on your deathbed to try and do your estate planning! Far too often people wait until the final hours to act on the desire to establish an estate plan to ensure that the family members and others that the individual wants to receive the assets of the estate. At that point, sometimes it is simply too late to do anything at all. And sometimes, even when the person is still competent and able to execute the estate planning documents, it is then too late to do any tax minimization and other strategic planning. Don't let happen to your family.

In planning your affairs, it is important to understand what you are planning for and what the options are that are available. While determining who will receive your assets you’re your death is what the average individual thinks of when contemplating an estate plan, there are many other important aspects that probably should be a part of your Estate Plan. An effective Estate Plan that will properly protect your interests during your lifetime as well as the interests of your family following your death may include the following:

• Wills
• Living Trusts
• Nevada Spendthrift Trusts (aka: Nevada Onshore Trust, Nevada Asset Protection Trust)
• Pour Over Wills
• General and/or Specific Powers of Attorney
• Health Care Powers of Attorney
• Living Wills
• Guardianships

WILLS

A Will allows an individual to declare who they want to receive their property or proceeds of their estate upon their death. The individual who executes the Will can revoke, amend or change the Will at any time prior to death. It is important to note that a Will is actually a ticket to probate court. While the Will does allow you to specify who will receive your assets upon your death, a probate court case must be initiated and completed in order to carry out the provisions of the Will (essentially the same statutory process that occurs when the deceased person has done no planning at all and dies "intestate" or without a Will). Probate proceedings can be time consuming and costly and, in the end, your heirs receive less than the full value of your estate. Generally, therefore it is desirable to avoid the probate process altogether in order to preserve the value of the estate and to ensure the least amount of nuisance for the family following death. A Trust is the best method to avoid the probate process.

LIVING TRUSTS

A Living Trust can avoid the probate court process for the deceased persons estate altogether. Probate court, at the bottom line, is really just a title transferring process. It is the statutory process of transfering "title" or "ownership" of the deceased persons assets (the "estate") to the deceased persons heirs. If the person did no planning, the probate court transfers the proceeds of the deceased person's estate to the heirs as specified in the statute books of the state where the person dies and where the deceased person owns real estate (where real estate is owned in multiple states, a probate proceeding must be opened in each state where the deceased individual's real estate property is located. If the person had a Will, the probate court is transferring the assets to the people or entities as directed in the Will. A properly drafted and "funded" Living Trust avoids the probate process because title to the assets is transferred to the Trust during the person's lifetime. Upon the death of the person who created the Trust, a successor trustee steps into the deceased person's shoes as trustee and then the successor trustee distributes the assets or proceeds held by the Trust as directed in the Trust document. Hence, no court involvement is usually required for this process to occur. This results in a simpler, more expeditious distribution of assets to the heirs and helps to preserve the value of the estate (that would otherwise be diminished by court costs, attorneys fees, appraiser fees, and other costs of probate). A Living Trust allows you maximum flexibility in how you want the assets to be distributed. A Living Trust also allows you to plan to minimize the effects of estate taxes. One common misperception is that a Living Trust will protect your assets from personal judgment creditors and lawsuits. This is not the case. With an ordinary revocable Living Trust, a judgment creditor will be able to access the Trust assets to satisfy the judgment. If asset protection is a primary goal, in addition to ordinary estate planning, an asset protection planning device such as a Nevada Spendthrift Trust (aka: Nevada Onshore Trust, Nevada Domestic Asset Protection Trust or Nevada Wealth Preservation Trust ) may be necessary.

NEVADA SPENDTHRIFT TRUST (ASSET PROTECTION TRUST)

In Nevada we have been endowed from the Nevada legislature with the ability to do some very effective asset protection planning through a Nevada Asset Protection Trust (also commonly known as a "Nevada Onshore Trust", "Nevada Spendthrift Trust", and "Nevada Domestic Asset Protection Trust") and other protective devices designed to enable you to preserve your hard-earned wealth for you and your family during your lifetime as well as preserving the value of your estate following your death. A Nevada Spendthrift Trust (aka: Nevada Onshore Trust, Nevada Domestic Asset Protection Trust, Nevada Wealth Preservation Trust ), much like an ordinary Living Trust, is an effective estate planning and probate avoidance device. However, in addition to being an estate planning and probate avoidance device, the Nevada Spendthrift Trust is also designed as a personal asset protection device. Like a Living Trust, the Nevada Spendthrift Trust allows you to specify who will receive the proceeds of the Trust upon your death. The Nevada Spendthrift Trust can be used alone or in conjunction with an ordinary Will, Living Trust and/or other Trust(s) as part of your personal estate plan. The Nevada Spendthrift Trust is unique to Nevada (although several other states have similar self-settled spendthrift trust laws; however, Nevada's Spendthrift Trust Law has the most favorable terms and protective provisions). The Nevada Spendthrift Trust law (NRS 166.010 et seq.) specifically provides that an individual does not have to be a Nevada resident to take advantage of the Nevada Spendthrift Trust. The Nevada Spendthrift Trust can protect virtually any type of asset from future personal judgment creditors. Click here for additional information on the Nevada Spendthrift Trust NEVADA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY & FAMILY LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS A Nevada LLC and/or Family Limited Partnership may also be effectively coordinated into your estate and asset protection plan to provide maximum estate and wealth preservation. PLANNING FOR INCAPACITY In addition to planning for distribution of your financial estate upon your demise, it is important to consider and to plan for the possibility of incapacity through the use of Durable Powers of Attorney for Health Care, Financial and other issues. Advanced Health CareDirectives can serve to avoid hassles, court involvement and allow your wishes to be carried out as smoothly and effectively as possible.


Black & Lobello's experienced nevada trust lawyers and estate planning attorneys, and can provide valuable guidance to help educate you on the available planning options and to empower you to make the best decisions for you and your family. After assessing your specific situation, goals and desires, we can then craft a customized estate plan that will fit your specific needs. Take the first step toward protecting your family's interests and call us for a free ½ hour consultation. If you schedule an appointment, you may request that we send you a free Estate Planning informational booklet and Estate Planning Questionnaire prior to your visit.