A will is a document where you say who gets what and who is in charge of making that happen. Someone named in a will to receive your assets is called an heir or beneficiary, and the person put in charge of making that happen is called a personal representative or an executor.

If you have a will, and a will is really critical for your estate plan, you need to make sure that it's in sync with everything owned jointly and also everything where you have a beneficiary named to make sure it all is working together according to your wishes. 

Also, for any property passing under the will, it's important to note that that will has to be filed with a probate court and reviewed and approved before anyone named in the will, the personal representative can act on your behalf, gather your assets, pay any creditors who might be owed money, and then ultimately distribute the assets to your heirs.

A will is a document that does have to go through probate, which is actually a common myth that we run across. People think that a will is a magical document that covers every estate planning scenario, but it doesn't. It's critical and you need it, but you need to make sure that you understand it goes through probate before it is effective, and that is a will. 

Think of a trust as a will-substitute. A will says who gets what, under what circumstances, and who's in charge of making that happen. A trust does the same thing. 

The critical difference between a will and a trust is that a will has to be filed with a probate court and reviewed and approved before anyone can act under it or receive any assets from your estate. So everything filed in the probate court, including the will, becomes a public record, and, as you might imagine, it takes time to go through a public court proceeding. 

A trust, on the other hand, is a completely private document. No one's entitled to see it except those who are named in it, and the successor trustee named in your trust can act immediately, without having to go to court, file anything, or get permission first.

A trust is a totally private document that can be more immediate and efficient upon someone's passing, whereas a will is a public document once it's filed with the court, and the court has to review and approve it before anyone can act under it.

This is the most often asked question is estate planning, we know the topic of cost is a sensitive one when it comes to choosing a professional to guide you, and we have designed our fees on a flat-fee basis only so that you know exactly what you are committing to - and there are no surprises.  

Everything that we do is flat fee agreed to in advance. When it comes to which estate plan package might be right for you, maybe the will plan is or maybe the trust plan is, and we help you figure out what's right for you at your first appointment.

There's actually two that I've run across. One is that a lot of people think a will covers every estate planning contingency, all you need is the will and you're good, and that's absolutely not true. A will doesn't cover what happens if you're incapacitated or disabled and, this might surprise you, a will has to go through the probate court, be filed with the court and lawsuit is actually commenced in order for a will to be effective, so that's myth number one.

Myth number two is that a lot of people believe that if they are incapacitated or disabled and they're married then their spouse can automatically exclusively act for them, and that's actually not true. Even though you're married, there is no presumption that your spouse has your best interest at heart and so your spouse would actually have to go to the probate court. If you're needing medical decisions and financial decisions made on your behalf, your spouse has to actually go to court just like anyone else would to act on your behalf, to get permission first from the probate judge, so don't rely merely on the fact that you're married that your spouse gets to do that automatically for you, and don't rely just on a will to cover all of your estate planning concerns.

No, of course not! It has nothing to do with how much you own or might own or your net worth or anything like that.

If you leave a will and no trust, your family's probably going to have to go through the probate court in most cases. If you utilize a trust instead and everything is done properly, then your family can avoid the probate court and things can be much more immediate as well as kept private versus with a will, things become a public record. 

Through our unique life and legacy planning process, you can give your loved ones the most precious gift of all - a lasting expression of your love. This is because we believe estate planning is not just about transferring your financial assets and personal belongings. It is equally about capturing and transferring your valuable intangible gifts: your values, insights, stories, and experiences.

If you pass away with no will in place, state law fills in the gaps. State law dictates who gets what if you haven't clarified in a will who your heirs and beneficiaries are. State law tends to follow kind of what you might expect people to choose. A surviving spouse is the primary heir, and then children after that. If there are no spouse or children living, then it goes up to your parents who would receive your estate. And then, ultimately your siblings, and nieces, and nephews, until someone is available to receive your estate. 

But it can get really tricky, if you have a blended family, or either you or the surviving spouse have children from a different relationship. Because the numbers get a little tricky, and don't just go flat out 100%, or in equal shares in that case. So even though Colorado law does fill in the gaps to make sure that people who are close to you receive your estate, it might be different from what you would want. And it also doesn't clarify who is in charge of the assets left to a minor, or an incapacitated beneficiary.

State law is really just following the family tree but really doesn't do a whole lot more than that to make sure that those who do receive your estate, receive it in a way that you would want, and maybe at specific ages along the way that you would want.  But even then, it is really important to make sure that your plan is laid out, in writing, so we're not having to rely on state law for you.