Areas of Practice

Have you taken steps to care for your loved ones once you are no longer able to do so? What will happen with your property and belongings when you die? What happens if you are in need of care and unable to care for yourself? How will you be taken care of if you lose the ability to handle your own affairs?

Estate planning is a process to decide and declare who will benefit and to what extent; how you will care for loved ones when you are unable and how you are to be cared for when you are no longer able to care for yourself. Estate planning can also reduce taxes on the transfer of assets at death, preserving as much as possible for your loved ones. Your attorney can ensure that the estate is managed and distributed according to your decisions.

Before consulting with the attorney, it is helpful to think about who you will entrust as your personal representative, and who you would like to benefit upon your passing. Are there specific gifts you want to give to individuals or charities? Are there minor children to be provided for?

The person(s) you name in your will is responsible for administering your estate and ensuring your wishes are followed in providing for loved ones.

The person(s) you name in your Power of Attorney can legally make decisions for you and take actions that you specify within the Power of Attorney.

The person(s) you name in your Medical Power of Attorney is given directives you have outlined for when you are not in a condition to decide for yourself what medical procedures you wish to accept or forbid.

You may select different people to name as your agent for each of these purposes.

It is also helpful when creating an estate plan to list all your assets including real estate, vehicles, bank accounts, securities, annuities, IRAs, insurance policies, jointly held interests, valuable possessions, and collections or items you want to be distributed to particular individuals for sentimental reasons.

Please click on the Contact Us tab to schedule your free personal consultation with one of our attorneys to determine your estate planning needs.

At Maxwell Sipe Law Offices we understand the difficulties of losing a loved one; there are so many questions that arise after a loved one passes… What were their final wishes? Who did they want to benefit? What legal obligations did they leave behind? Our office is positioned to assist you in answering these questions.

We will take care of legal notice to the government and beneficiaries, prepare and file the necessary tax returns, and assist in interacting with creditors. Once we handle all the necessary steps we will disburse remaining assets in accordance with the decedent’s wishes

We primarily focus on your desires for the type of long-term care you wish to obtain, preparing for that care through income and asset planning, discussing available benefits, and assisting you with telling your loved ones about your desires and decisions.

Our office can assist you with starting a family business, consult on legal updates that may benefit your family business, and assist in succession planning to ensure your business can continue with each generation. Our attorneys are in tune with the various entity options and advise entrepreneurs on the best entity for the type of business, risk tolerance and family dynamics. We enjoy working with family businesses because we strive to assist the local community in building sustainable businesses that benefit the current generation and will assist future generations in having a thriving community.