Riseling & Rhodes PC

Estate Planning

Every person has wealth, but not every person has a proper transition plan in place. Proper estate planning can minimize the costs of legal fees, court costs, possibly estate and/or income taxes, and other related expenses. Proper planning can serve to maximize benefits to you and your family in the event you become incapacitated or deceased. 

While you are alive, proper planning provides solutions to concerns regarding your medical and financial affairs if you become incapacitated. 

Upon death, a proper estate plan maximizes the wealth transferred to your loved ones, decreases the risk of litigation over your estate, and reduces the time and labor expended by your loved ones. Most importantly, the proper plan provides a peace of mind knowing your affairs are in order. 

Trusts

Trusts can play a very important role in your estate plan. There are many benefits of creating a trust such as to avoid probate, protect assets, trust agreements are private, and tax benefits. A trust is a way for you to decide what will happen to your property after you pass away while still maintaining control over your assets while you are alive. More specifically, a trust is a legal entity that holds properties and other assets. 

Last Will & Testament

A Last Will and Testament ("Will") could be considered the cornerstone of an estate plan. A will allows you to direct who will receive various assets within your estate and who will manage your estate once you pass away. Without a Will, state law and a judge may decide who receives your property (i.e. probate). 

While wills are the most-well known way of naming your heirs and distributing your assets, they are not the only way to manage your estate. 

Advance Directive (Living Will)

An Advance Directive, also known as a Living Will, is an important component of any estate plan and it can be useful for clients of any age. An Advance Directive empowers your loved ones to carry out your end-of-life wishes regarding health care. At Riseling & Rhodes, P.C., we can help formulate an Advance Directive that meets your unique needs, serves your family's interests, and explicitly states your wishes for end-of-life issues. 

Financial Power of Attorney

If you're unable to conduct your financial affairs due to a mental or physical incapacity such as dementia, stroke, or other medical reason, who would you like to act on your behalf? A financial Power of Attorney allows you to name an individual(s) to manage your financial affairs if you become incapacitated. 

Special Needs Planning

When planning for the future, it is important to ensure that the requirements of a loved one with special needs can be met even if parents or caregivers are not around to continue to provide for them. This can be accomplished through the establishment of a special needs trust, which can be set up for a child or adult who is disabled, physically or mentally. Special needs trusts may prevent your loved one with special needs from losing access to their government benefits in the future or protecting assets from consideration for the purpose of nursing home planning. 

Wealth Transfer & Funding Your Trust

Many of our clients choose an estate plan that includes a revocable living trust instead of relying solely on a will, joint ownership, or beneficiary designations as their estate plan. They like the cost and time savings, plus the added control overs assets that a revocable trust can provide in the event of their incapacity and death. Still, many people fail to fund their trust. Funding your trust is the process of transferring your assets from you to your trust. Our clients are ultimately responsible for making sure their trust is funded; nevertheless, we provide assistance along the way. 

Business Formation & Succession

There can be many different legal issues and concerns to deal with in connection with the formation or acquisition of a business, maintaining and operating a business, and terminating or selling a business. It is important for a business owner to have quality legal and planning advice in connection with each stage of owning and running a business. This can include formation or acquisition, growth, and ultimately the termination, succession, or sale of the business.

Probate Administration

Once a person passes away, it creates a great deal of uncertainty, difficulty, and financial stress on their loved ones. If a person passes away without a proper estate plan, it can create various legal and tax responsibilities, especially for the person appointed as the personal representative (executor) of the estate. 

If either: (a) you have been nominated in a deceased person's last will and testament as personal representative, or (b) have a loved one who has died without a will, we can help guide you through the probate process.

Adult Guardianship

Unfortunately, once a person becomes incapacitated, estate planning is no longer an option. In Oklahoma, an adult guardianship is the legal process where a person is granted: (a) legal control over another person's financial affairs known as a Guardian of the Property and (b) medical care and living decision-making authority known as a Guardian of the Person. We also assist with annual guardianship plans and annual accounting. 

Premarital/Prenuptial Agreement

For many couples, a premarital agreement, also referred to as a "prenuptial agreement" or "antenuptial agreement", can offer security in their marriage and may lead to fewer arguments about finances. These agreements are designed to protect each of the spouse's interests in their assets should their marriage fail. In sum, a marital agreement assumes authority otherwise belonging to the court. Premarital agreements may be challenged in a divorce proceeding, so it is important to make sure the agreement is properly drafted and entered into in good faith with full knowledge of how it affects your interests. 

Trust Decanting

Similar to decanting wine, trust decanting is a method by which an authorized trustee may remove or modify trust provisions from an irrevocable trust by distributing the assets from an old trust into a new trust. The new trust might be used to avoid adverse tax consequences, appoint a new trustee, or amend the terms of the trust.