Legacy and Estate Planning

Effective legacy and estate planning is the only way to ensure that your assets will be transferred to and used appropriately by your intended beneficiaries. At the law firm of Altman & Associates, our legacy & estate planning attorneys and staff are committed to assisting you throughout the process of planning for your future.

Good planning prior to your death provides the means to control your assets, your health care and future medical treatment, and designates which of your loved ones gets what, when and how. We have been helping clients establish arrangements for over 15 years and are able to tailor the representation we provide to suit your individual situation and needs.

Estate Planning Can:

Shelter your personal and business assets from future lawsuits, judgments and liens
Eliminate personal liability for business activities
Protect your privacy
Minimize or eliminate federal gift, estate and generation-skipping taxes without loss of control or access during your lifetime or the lifetimes of your beneficiaries
Fund charitable gifts and legacies through tax savings that enable you and your family members to direct resources to the causes most important to you
Prevent state and federal agencies from depleting your estate when a family member requires special medical care
Estate planning aims to preserve the maximum amount of wealth possible for your intended beneficiaries while providing you the desired level of financial security and flexibility during your lifetime

Individuals

We advise individuals on all aspects of estate planning to include personal tax planning, including income, estate and gift taxes and charitable giving. Services include:

Estate planning, including will and trust drafting
Administration of trusts
Settlement of estates
Charitable gift planning to include advising on and creating charitable foundations
Fiduciary income related matters

For non-U.S. citizens in the United States and for those citizens moving overseas, Altman & Associates can assist clients with international needs and structure the transfer of assets through creating wills and trusts.

Business Owners

We advise all business owners on areas of tax and estate planning and have significant experience working with individuals with unique and or significant assets. Our planning includes:

Management succession planning in a tax efficient manner
Advise on techniques to include recapitalizations and gift programs for shifting value during an owner’s lifetime
Counsel on liquidity needs in the event of death and or structuring life insurance to minimize tax costs
Counsel on the selling or buying of a business, buy sell agreements.
Advising on strategies for active family members and or inactive family members in the business
For additional information about estate planning, please feel free to visit our Resources page.

Planning for Partners

Gay and lesbian couples, as well as unmarried heterosexual couples, face unique challenges in protecting jointly owned property or in dividing assets in case the relationship ends. If you are a member of the GLBT community and you have failed to plan properly, you may be precluded from having any role in the decision making process should you or your partner be faced with an accident or illness. If you have not put your wishes in a legal document, you risk losing the right to choose who you want to make vital decisions about your health care and finances. Your partner will have no right to inherit your property, raise your children (unless you are both the biological parents), and may not even have the right to visit you in the hospital.

Many states and local jurisdictions , including Maryland, offer domestic partnerships, civil unions or similar methods of legal recognition for same-sex relationships. Many of these rights vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. (Maryland recognizes same-sex marriages performed elsewhere and its agencies give gay married couples the same rights as heterosexual couples). Although there are no spousal benefits for same sex couples, as there are for heterosexual married couples, in many states, proper estate planning can resolve many issues. For example, a living trust can establish a domestic partner as the trustee, or manager of the client’s affairs should a person become incapacitated through illness or accident as well as provide for privacy should a couple wish to remain confidential. A Health Care Power of Attorney can provide for access to a partner during a time of crisis. A proper estate plan will ensure that individual’s assets are distributed in the manner in wish they choose.

Pet Trusts

It may seem frivolous to some but to pet owners who love their pets, making sure their beloved animals are taken care of after they are gone is of the utmost importance. Will someone be notified so that your pet’s care is not interrupted? Who will take care of these pets long-term after you are gone?

What does a Pet Trust do?

Ensures your pets will be cared for, as you yourself have cared for them
Ensures that there are funds available and a care taking system is in place
Appoints a caregiver and at least one backup caregiver
Appoints a Trustee to make sure that the care giver is doing his or her job
Protects the money designated for the pet and ensures that it lasts for the duration of the pet’s life
Gives directions regarding health care needs, exercise needs, diet needs, preferred veterinarian, and burial/cremation plans for your pet
Provides that any funds remaining in trust at the death of the pet goes to charity or a family member
Provides a method for finding a caretaker in the event that the caretaker or the back-up caretaker you have selected is unavailable
Assets in a pet trust are NOT subject to the caregiver’s creditors, marital disputes, or bankruptcy. (Alternatively, if you leave an outright gift of money to a person in your will in exchange for the care of yur pet, the money will go to that person’s heirs or beneficiaries at his or her death and will not be available to care for the pet).
You can provide for a temporary emergency/caregiver in the event that something unexpected happens to you providing them with keys to your home, feeding and care instructions, the name of your veterinarian, and information about permanent care instructions.
Planning can lead to peace of mind, reducing the anxiety that many pet owners experience when they envision their beloved pet living without them
There is no assurance that if you leave money to someone outright to care for your pet that they will do what was promised
To ensure that certain people are notified, so your pet’s care will not be interrupted
To ensure that caretakers are pre-selected by you
To provide a source of funds for your pet’s care
To inform future caretakes of your pet’s care instructions, likes and dislikes, and your wishes as to your pet’s burial and cremation

For more information about Pet Trusts visit the Pet Eternal Trust web site.

Estate Plan Review

We hear many times “I did my estate plan ten years ago”, and many of our new clients think their work is done. And, that very well may be true. Unfortunately, many people learn that financial and emotional issues can happen if a loved one has not kept current their estate plan. Your estate plan should be reviewed and updated at least every four years or if any of the following events occur:

A change in marital status – divorced, married, remarried, widowed
The birth of a child
The marital status of one of your loved ones has changed
A change in your state of residence
You have purchased or sold property in another location
You or your spouse have recently retired
A significant change in the value or character of your assets; home, auto, antique, stock, bond, annuity, IRA’s
Your net worth has increased or decreased significantly since your estate plan was created
You have or will be considering the buying or selling of your business interest
You have bought, cancelled or increased the value of your life insurance policy
A change in intended beneficiaries; you have changed your mind about whom you want to leave your estate or how you want your loved ones to receive your estate
The death of a beneficiary
The death of a guardian, trustee, or personal representative named in your will; or a successor trustee has moved away, become disabled or you wish for a corporate trustee
A change in tax laws affecting state and federal estate tax deductions and calculations
Your estate plan does not include an Advanced Medical Directive or Health Care Power of Attorney
Your plan has not been reviewed since the passing of EGTRA 2001 and the current 2011 and 2010 estate tax rules