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The Las Vegas estate planning lawyers at Ken R. Ashworth & Associates have been serving the needs of clients throughout southern Nevada for more than 30 years. In addition to providing excellence, integrity, and credibility in our legal services, we also offer you the customized personal service that your family’s unique needs warrant. Our insistence on virtual 24/7 availability never takes us far from any sudden questions or late-breaking concerns you may have.
We are a full-service law firm with an impeccable statewide reputation. We would be honored to meet with you, hear your concerns and show you what we can do to resolve them. Contact us online or call 702-893-9500 today to schedule an initial consultation.
A Nevada estate planning attorney can provide invaluable assistance to you and your family in all estate planning matters, including:
A goal of estate planning is to protect the property you have worked hard to accumulate so that you can pass it to your heirs. We can show you how to legally preserve, transfer, and protect your wealth and assets by using a variety of estate planning tools, including various trust agreements. In addition to protecting your property from your creditors, you can also protect property you leave to heirs from your heirs’ creditors, ex-spouses, personal judgments, and bankruptcy actions.
Whether you need to appoint a guardian to look out for an elderly loved one’s interests or need to ensure that a plan is in place to help care for a loved one with specific needs, we are here to help.
Medicaid planning is legal and ethical. Many individuals require long-term care. Because nursing homes and assisted care facilities are expensive, many families need government assistance to help pay the cost for long-term care. However, Medicaid is a needs-based program. Our Las Vegas estate planning lawyers can help you develop a plan that maintains your loved one’s eligibility for benefits while protecting assets from Medicaid liens.
Establishing power of attorney can help give you the peace of mind that comes with knowing your decisions will be respected should you ever be in a position where you cannot make decisions on your own.
A Durable General Power of Attorney appoints a person to handle your financial affairs. Your agent can perform any financial transaction in your name that you can perform legally, unless the power of attorney restricts or prohibits that authority. The “durable” clauses in the power of attorney continue the agent’s powers in full force and effect even if you become incapacitated.
When an aging or ill relative cannot competently handle his or her personal affairs, we can help establish a guardianship to ensure that they receive the help they need. A guardian handles the person’s physical care and financial matters.
Also, parents need to choose guardians for their minor children as part of their estate plan. Guardians are typically named in a parent’s will.
Your will dictates the distribution of your property after your death. Without a will, Nevada’s intestate laws decide who receives your property and the distribution of the property to heirs. Friends and charities are not considered heirs under intestate laws. If you want to leave property to a charitable organization or friend, you must have a will or create a trust during your lifetime.
You choose a personal representative to administer your estate and name that person in your will. Through your will, you can name a guardian for your minor child and create a testamentary trust to hold your child’s inheritance until he or she reaches a specific age. Creating a testamentary trust prevents your 18-year old child from receiving his or her entire inheritance, possibly while still in high school.
The drafting of a will can be complex. Certain language must be used to preserve your wishes correctly. We can help guide you through the process of drafting a will and ensure that it accurately reflects your wishes.
The establishment of a trust can help your family avoid a lengthy probate process and avoid estate taxes, among other benefits. Our attorneys can help you explore your options and determine which type of trust is right for you. Some trust agreements offer a high level of asset protection, which could be necessary if you own a business or you anticipate that an heir may have substantial debt or other financial problems. There are many types of trust agreements you can use depending on your goals and needs.
A living trust is designed to provide instructions for your care should you ever become incapacitated. It can also include instructions regarding how your estate should be distributed upon your death.
With a special needs trust, you can provide for a child or an adult who has a disability without jeopardizing their eligibility for government benefits. Pet trusts allow individuals to provide for the care and upkeep of their pets after their death. An animal cannot inherit money or property. With a pet trust, you can appoint a trustee to manage the trust and use the funds to care for your pet after your death.
A Nevada self-settled trust can help protect your most important assets should you ever run into difficulty meeting your financial obligations down the road. This type of trust can be particularly valuable to a person who is personally liable for a business’s obligations.
Our Las Vegas, Nevada estate planning attorneys can explain trusts in further detail, including the pros and cons of various trust agreements.
The probate process can be lengthy and expensive. Our Las Vegas probate attorneys can help resolve issues that may occur during probate and take proactive steps to help your family members avoid this complicated process. We assist personal representatives as they complete their duties and responsibilities. Our lawyers also represent family members in Las Vegas, who wish to contest a will or petition to remove a personal representative.
Few people fully account for how they are going to handle their retirement. Whether you are years away from retiring or need guidance in your retirement right now, we are here for you.
People typically consider a probate lawyer and an estate planning lawyer to be the same until they actually begin making plans for the administration of their estate when they pass away. Although the two fields are closely related, they are different in that an estate planning attorney is a legal professional an individual hires while they are alive to help plan for the distribution of their assets upon their death, whereas a probate attorney oversees the administration and validation of an estate in probate court after the individual passes away.
An estate planning lawyer practices law with a focus on trusts, wills, probate, and related issues. They assist clients by creating legal documents that ensure their clients’ wishes are carried out upon their death and advise them on the best ways to protect their assets.
Individuals plan ahead for the administration of their estate for three primary reasons:
A trust is a document that creates a legal agreement between three individuals in regard to a person’s wishes for their estate. Those three parties include:
If a person has not established a trust or taken any measures to avoid probate, their assets are distributed according to the state laws that have jurisdiction over the assets upon their death. State law may not dictate that an individual’s assets are distributed to those they would have wanted, and if they do, they may still encounter the following problems.
A revocable living trust can help to avoid the probate process, along with the following alternate methods:
No matter what techniques an individual chooses to use, there are bound to be pros and cons. For this reason, it is always wise to consult an experienced estate planning attorney in Las Vegas, NV.
When an individual has a will and hasn’t made any other estate planning arrangements, probate court proceedings are typically necessary to administer the estate. This is a formal court process that can become complicated in some circumstances and may be very expensive. In the state of Nevada, probate fees are dictated by statute, which uses a formula to compute fees for the executor and the attorney. For Nevada estates that use an A-B trust or require the filing of estate tax returns, the court may impose hefty fees on top of the statutory fees.
If the individual had a living revocable trust, however, the estate can usually avoid probate, and the attorney fees may be much less.
When an individual creates an estate plan, it is not necessarily set in stone. Their desires and the conditions that affect the estate may change over time. For this reason, it is best to review estate plans every two to three years or any time major life changes occur, including:
According to Nevada law, an individual’s inheritance is considered to be their “separate property” and therefore does not automatically become “community property” in the marriage. This means their spouse has no legal right to the inheritance.
After a beneficiary receives their inheritance, however, what they do with the asset may change it into jointly held or community property. Some living trusts are designed to prevent this from happening, so the assets are preserved solely for the intended beneficiary.
We look forward to discussing estate planning matters with you. Contact us online or call 702-893-9500 to schedule an initial consultation with an estate planning attorney in Las Vegas.
