Estate Administration Service...

Your estate plan is customized to your specific needs and goals. There are a variety of techniques ranging from simple wills to complex multigenerational inheritances. Bernard Walter will engage in strategic planning with you and advise on which methods will best achieve your goals.

Bernard Walter will develop a comprehensive estate plan, utilizing:

- Living Wills – This includes your Health Care Proxy and Durable Power of Attorney. Your Health Care Proxy states what medical decisions will be made if you are incapacitated and who will communicate your wishes. A Durable Power of Attorney allows a person of your choosing to manage your finances if you become incapacitated.

- Wills and Trusts – These are the standard ways to distribute assets. The most common purpose of a will is to describe the estate, say who will receive what, and appoint a guardian for minor children. A trust replaces or supplements a will, allowing for the benefits of property and the management of property to be granted to different people.

- Advanced Estate Planning – For more complex situations, additional options are available, such as Family Limited Partnerships, Qualified Personal Residence Trusts, Generation Skipping Trusts, and Charitable Remainder Trusts.

- Advisement on Gift and Estate Tax issues – A properly implemented estate plan minimizes the gift or estate tax consequences that develop when your property is transferred to another.

Estate Administration

Estate administration is the complex process of wrapping up a person’s estate after death and carrying out the tasks set forth in a person’s estate plan. Bernard Walter is available to assist you with the formalities to ensure that your loved one’s last wishes are appropriately completed.

Bernard Walter can assist will all aspects of estate administration, including:

- Executor Advisement – There are a number of duties depending upon the complexity of the estate plan. Examples of available assistance include determining what property the deceased owned, paying the deceased’s debts and taxes, and distributing property to beneficiaries.

- Trustee Advisement – Assistance includes, but is not limited to, managing trust property, distributing property to beneficiaries, and payment of taxes.

- Asset Titling – Legal ownership will transfer during probate, however, there are specific steps that must be taken to document the title transfer. Assistance is available for document preparation and recording.

Elder Law

Bernard Walter provides specialized legal services for the aging population. In addition to unique estate planning techniques for the elderly, Bernard Walter will engage in complete life planning to help organize your personal and financial affairs.

A variety of Elder Law services are available, including:

- Retirement Planning – An essential part of estate planning involves maximizing and protecting wealth for retirement. There are number of tools and strategies available to ease your transition to retirement.

- Public Benefits Planning – There are several public benefits available to seniors, such as Social Security Retirement and Disability Benefits, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, and Medicare. Bernard Walter can help you determine your eligibility and apply for public benefits.

- Long Term Care Planning – Nursing homes and other long term care programs are some of the most expensive forms of health care. Bernard Walter will work with you to develop a plan to help preserve your assets and finance necessary healthcare.