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End-of-Life Planning & Estate Law
Expert Legal Services to Safeguard your Destiny & Legacy
End-of-Life Planning: Wills, Donations, Trusts, Living Wills,
Powers of Attorney, Contracts of Mandate, and Advanced Medical Directives
"No one can confidently say that he will still be living tomorrow." - Euripides
No one likes talking about death. But end-of-life planning is essential to ensure your personal and financial destinies. Aertker Legal, LLC is well-positioned to assist clients with delicate yet critical end-of-life planning, including the drafting of the following:
Last Will & Testaments
Donations
Trusts
Living Wills
Advance Medical Directives
Powers of Attorney
Contracts of Mandate
Estate Law - Succession/Probate Matters
“We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.” – Chuck Palahniuk
Aertker Legal, LLC provides superior transactional and litigation support for clients confronted with succession/probate matters arising from the death of a family member. Regarding transactional support, Stephen will work with the executor and other estate fiduciaries to resolve all financial and legal affairs of the deceased, including:
Collecting proceeds from life insurance policies
Identifying and securing estate assets
Obtaining appraisals for the decedent’s real property
Assisting in the payment of bills and debts
Preparing and filing all documents required by a probate court
Determining if any estate or inheritance taxes are due, and making sure those debts are satisfied
Resolving income tax issues
Managing the estate checking account
Transferring assets in the decedent’s name to the appropriate beneficiaries
Making a final disbursement of assets to beneficiaries after all bills and taxes have been paid
Estate Law - Will & Trust Contests
"A play is never finished. You'll find out how much I mean that when you read my Last Will and Testament." - Playwright Tony Kushner
Ideally, the validity of a decedent’s will or trust is not questioned. Often, however, individuals may question the integrity of the documents or the circumstances surrounding the signing of a will or trust. Stephen regularly represents clients in defending and challenging the validity of wills and trusts. Typically, these disputes challenge or contest the validity of a will or trust as a result of many factors, including:
Improper testamentary form
Coercion & duress
Interpretation issues
Disputes between beneficiaries, trustees and fiduciaries
Disputes regarding fiduciary or trustee fees
Trust modification and termination