Estate Planning Attorney Denver

Meurer Law Offices, P.C., serves clients in Denver, Greenwood Village, Centennial, Aurora, Littleton, Englewood, Arvada, Westminster, Broomfield, Parker, Castle Rock, Lone Tree, Sheridan, Elizabeth, Kiowa, Lakewood, Parker, Highlands Ranch, Denver County, Arapahoe County, Adams County, Douglas County, Jefferson County, Colorado.

Estate Planning Service

Wills

A Will is a document which gives direction to the Probate Court as to how you want your Estate administered. If you die in the state of Colorado without a will, there is a set of laws which govern who will receive your assets. These are set forth in the laws of intestacy set forth in Colorado Statues. Without a Will one of your heirs or interested parties will need to petition the court to be placed in charge of your property. This may or may not be the person who you believe would do the best job in a fair and prompt manner. If any of your heirs are minors or have special needs, the distributions will still be made potentially resulting in the funds being held by ex-spouses for the benefit of the children or being distributed to those not having the mental or physical capacity to manage those funds.

Through the utilization of a Will, these adverse results can be avoided. The first thing a Will does is it allows you to appoint the person who will administer your estate. This person is called the Personal Representative, Executor, or Executrix, of the Will. The court will still have to approve this person through the Probate process; however, the judge will have a clear indication of who you trust to accomplish the task and in all but the rarest cases, will honor your wish.

Secondly, you will be able to designate your beneficiaries outside the laws of intestacy. Your spouse will have a right to claim, but all other beneficiaries are bound by the terms of your will. You can include persons or charities that would not otherwise receive any benefits from your legacy. This may be a friend who helped you through a hard time, a charitable organization that you have been involved in or your church.

Third, you can direct that any of your property to be distributed to a special needs individual or minor be held by the personal representative or a trustee, for that heir’s benefit. Rather than an 18 year old receiving a lump sum of money which may be spent unwisely, the personal representative can hold those funds for that individual until they are older. Rather than one of your heirs who is receiving social security benefits, inheriting a lump sum that may disqualify them for a period of time and then require them to reapply and potentially having to re-qualify, again you can have the personal representative hold those funds for that beneficiary in a Special Needs Trust.

Finally, you can request the court to appoint an individual to act as the guardian of your minor children. The court will still be required to determine the best Interest of the child, but in almost all cases the court will honor your wish.

Thus, a Will is a useful instrument in directing the Probate Court as to who you want to be placed in charge, how you want your property distributed, and how you want your property protected if distributed to minors or special needs individuals.