For more than 70 years our Idaho Falls Estate Planning Lawyers have assisted clients in Idaho Falls and the surrounding areas and have helped them solve their estate planning and probate problems. Our skilled attorneys utilize their knowledge and experience to help each client with their estate planning concerns. We know that no two people are the same. Each person has their own concerns about their own future, and unique needs for their family and their loved one. Our approach to Idaho Falls estate planning is to customize an estate plan that works specifically for you and your circumstances in life. In addition to this, we have guided numerous individuals and families through the probate process. We are confident that if you have a loved one that has recently passed away, we can help you too.
At the Racine Law Office, our team of Idaho Falls estate planning and probate lawyers includes experienced partners Randy Budge and Lane Erickson and skilled attorneys Nathan Palmer and Dave Bagley. Each attorney on our team has years of experience in helping clients complete their estate plan. Additionally, each of our lawyers has assisted numerous clients through the probate process.
The individually members of our Idaho Falls team have all received the highest possible ratings from several legal ranking services including AVVO, Martindale and Hubbell, and Justia. Most importantly, our clients have provided numerous reviews praising our team of Idaho Falls estate planning attorneys for their skills, abilities and compassion. We are confident that we have the ability to help you complete your own customized estate plan and to assist you and your family with your Probate.
Customize Your Estate PlanThough life is uncertain, the one thing we do know for sure is that one day we are all going to pass away. While we may live longer than previous generations, there is no way to avoid death altogether. With the uncertainty of life, none of us can predict when death will happen to us or our loved ones. Despite no knowing the future, we can all obtain peace of mind by completing a customized estate plan for ourselves and we can help our family and loved ones do the same. By having a completed estate plan, you will know that you have considered and created a plan that will protect you while you are alive. Additionally, it will provide for your family and loved ones when you die. Through their knowledge and experience our Idaho Falls estate planning attorneys can help you not only understand potential problems that could arise for you but also provide you with solutions.
You see, when you have a complete estate plan you have far more than just a Last Will and Testament that provides instructions about who will receive your assets, money and property after you die. To be sure, these things are important, but they are not the sole focus of estate planning. Rather, a complete plan provides you individually with protection while you are alive. When you have a complete plan you will also have a valid Durable Power of Attorney which will assure that you have named the person you have chosen who will take care of you and will handle and make decisions for you about your finances, property, health care, businesses, and other areas of your life. Without a complete plan your family or loved ones could be forced to go to court for a guardianship proceeding. This expensive process results in having a judge decide who your guardian will be rather than allowing you to choose.
Additionally, parents with young children are another group of individuals with an urgent need to complete their estate planning. If parents die when they have a complete plan they know that the person they chose will be named as the Guardian for their minor children. Without a complete plan, when parents of young children die, the courts are forced to decide who the legal guardians of the children will be. If family members disagree about who should be named as the guardian (which is a situation that happens often), a family fight or disagreement could occur. Family fights over children are ugly, time consuming events that often destroy family relationships in addition to being expensive.
The goal of our team of Idaho Falls attorneys is to provide a complete plan for you that eliminates the likelihood of fights over children, money or other property. We believe that your death or disability should be a cause for bringing your family and loved ones closer together. We provide guidance that can avoid family disagreements. We also believe that having a complete estate plan will save you money by avoiding many of the problems that arise when no plan exists.
A Complete Idaho Falls Estate PlanWe know that every person's life and circumstances are unique. With this knowledge, we have come to know that every person should have a complete Estate Plan to carry out their wishes and to protect themselves while they are alive, and their loved ones after they die.
A basic Estate Plan is made up of several documents including a last will and testament, a durable power of attorney, a living will, and a durable power of attorney for health care. We also guide parents that have small children in the naming of a guardian, and in the creation of a trust for minor children so that all minor children will be protected and cared for. For some individuals a living trust or a series of trusts are created by our Idaho Falls Estate Planning Attorneys as part of the succession planning for farm, ranch or businesses that are owned by our clients. Finally, completing a customized Estate Plan also provides information and instructions about a person's life insurance, bank accounts, and retirement accounts to their loved ones.
Idaho Falls ProbateBecause death is unavoidable, as part of completing an Estate Plan, we encourage every client to consider how probate may affect them and their property after they die. In Idaho the probate process is usually simple and straight forward. Probate is the legal process filed in Court that authorizes a person to be names as a Personal Representative. The Personal Representative then has legal authority to take care of the deceased person's debts, creditors and distribute property under the instructions written in a person's last will and testament. Without a written last will and testament the laws of intestacy automatically distribute the deceased person's property, but usually in a way that is different from what the person would have wanted.
In Idaho probate is required under several circumstances which include when a deceased person owned a home, or other real property. A written and recorded deed establishes who the title owner of real property in Idaho is. When a person is alive they have the ability to sign and give a written deed in order to sell or give away real property. However, when a person dies there is no longer any person who has the legal authority to do this. Probate provides a legal way for another person to be appointed who has the proper legal authority to transfer property to others.
There are other circumstances where a probate may be necessary in Idaho. Idaho law requires a probate when an estate has property of any sort in it worth $100,000 or more regardless of whether real property is included.
Enlist an Idaho Falls Estate Planning and Probate Attorney to Help YouOur experienced attorneys at the Racine Law Office can help you and your family with your Idaho Falls estate plan or with a probate. Whether you are seeking your own customized Estate Plan or are in need of a Probate for a loved one who has passed, we are available to discuss your options and answer your questions at an initial consultation. Call us toll free at 877.232.6101 or 208.232.6101 for a consultation with the Racine Olson team. You can also email us directly at racine@racinelaw.net. We will answer your questions and will help you solve your Idaho Falls state Planning and Probate problems.