Flat Fee Estate Planning Package

Our comprehensive and affordable flat fee New York Estate Planning package is a great way to get started on what may seem to be an overwhelming process. We start with a comprehensive intake process, conducted by Lewis & Hand, LLP attorneys at our offices in Brooklyn near the Manhattan bridge, that takes into account your busy schedule and is designed to make getting started on your estate planning process as convenient and hassle-free as possible. All of your documents are drafted and executed by an attorney, ensuring that all required New York State legal formalities are met and maximizing the likelihood of a smooth transition of assets when you pass.

In addition to carefully drafted and executed documents, we make thoughtful suggestions to ensure that your will and other documents better accomplish your desires, and to help you anticipate potential issues and future planning considerations.

Our flat fee New York Estate Planning package includes the following documents, each drafted based on your unique needs and requirements:

• Last Will & Testament
• Health Care Proxies and Medical Directives
• Designation of Guardian (For Minors)
• Designation of Guardian (Adult)
• Power of Attorney

With the foregoing documents in hand, you substantially decrease the likelihood of conflict and hardship among your friends and family members in the event you are incapacitated or pass away, by making your wishes known—in a variety of circumstances—clearly and unequivocally, and our thoughtful and comprehensive approach to all these concerns ensures that you end up with a coherent and consistent set of documents, rather than a patchwork of potentially conflicting instructions. For most individuals, these documents are all they need to feel secure that they have taken the responsible steps to provide for their loved ones in the event of their demise or incapacity. To discuss whether our flat fee New York Estate Planning package is the right solution for you and your loved ones, contact Lewis & Hand, LLP Estate Lawyers today.

Last Will & Testament: A will protects your loved ones by ensuring that you, and not your state’s intestacy laws, decide how your assets are distributed. It is not an overstatement to say that everything in your will matters.  A will must be artfully drafted to avoid conflicting provisions and unclear directives. It needs to take into consideration the possibility of assets passing to minors or individuals under disability, and must be executed with regard to all statutory requirements.

Utilizing techniques such as testamentary trust clauses, careful designation of alternate beneficiaries, clear descriptions of assets and individuals to whom they are to be distributed, Lewis & Hand LLP’s Estate Planning team will work with you to develop a will that provides for the care of your minor children, ensures smooth distribution of your estate, and provide security for your loved ones.

Health Care Proxies and Medical Directives: Also known as a “Living Will,” a Health Care Proxy allows you to designate the individual you want (and trust) to act as your Health Care Agent, and also lets you provide guidance to your Health Care Agent and medical providers regarding medical procedures you may prefer to have withheld or restricted in the event you are incapacitated and unable to make medical decisions on your own. Since your Health Care Agent will need to make important medical decisions on your behalf, he or she will have to be given access to your otherwise confidential medical information. In addition, your Health Care Agent must be someone whose judgment you feel you can rely on and who can remain thoughtful and calm—keeping your wishes in the forefront—in the event of a health care crisis. It is important that your Health Care Proxy (or Living Will) meets the Federal HIPAA guidelines to ensure that the individual you designate has the ability to take the actions you request.

Designation of Guardian (For Minors): For most people with minor children, their spouse or the surviving parent will normally step in as the children’s legal guardian. However, in the event both parents pass away, it is important to specify the individual or individuals the parents would want to take over guardianship of the children. A Designation of Guardian is your legal statement to the Court specifying the person or persons you want to take over care of your children in the event a guardian needs to be appointed. This designation does not take the place of a Guardianship Proceeding, which will still be required for a non-parent to acquire legal rights with respect to your children, in the event of your incapacity or demise. However, it does provide what is considered the most compelling guidance the court can have — it is a clear carefully executed statement indicating what the child’s parents would want.

Please note that for individuals with terminal illnesses or facing a long-term inability to care for their minor children, a Stand-by Guardianship Proceeding before the court is recommended, rather than a Designation of Guardian. This alternate proceeding is not part of our flat fee New York Estate Planning package, however, if you feel this is something that might be appropriate for your circumstances, our experienced Estate attorneys can provide assistance and guidance in this regard.

Designation of Guardian (Adult): In the event you are incapacitated and no longer able to make decisions for yourself, an individual interested in acting as your guardian can file a guardianship proceeding before the Supreme Court of the New York County in which you reside. This is commonly called an “Article 81” proceeding, and through this process the Court appoints an individual or individuals to make your personal and financial decisions for you until your incapacity ends. By executing a Designation of Guardian for yourself, you make a compelling directive to the Court identifying the person you think would best serve as your guardian. While this document does not avoid the need for a Guardianship Proceeding, it does substantially increase the predictability of the proceeding and, importantly, the likelihood that your wishes will followed. Common circumstances requiring appointment of a guardian are where individuals are suffering from debilitating dementia or other mental illness, Alzheimer’s, stroke, are in a coma, or have other serious medical conditions rendering them unable to perform certain functions, such as making financial or medical decisions, on a long term basis.

Power of Attorney: One of the most powerful and important documents in our flat fee Estate Planning package is the Power of Attorney. A Power of Attorney is an immediately enforceable document allowing an individual you designate to take action on your behalf in a variety of circumstances. Depending on your needs, a Power of Attorney can be made effective immediately or upon the occurrence of a future event, such as your incapacity. A Power of Attorney can be essential in avoiding the need for a more costly Guardianship Proceeding in the event of your incapacity, because a properly drafted and executed Power of Attorney will be accepted without the need for Court intervention, and can allow the person you designate to act on your behalf to take certain actions, such as access your bank accounts to pay your bills, enter into contracts to sell or purchase real or personal property, engage in further estate or financial planning and generally take care of your day to day business when you cannot. Having a carefully executed Power of Attorney can save thousands of dollars and avoid substantial hardship for your loved ones in the event of your incapacity. However, granting someone Power of Attorney is a serious decision, and gives that individual substantial rights and responsibilities. It is not a document to be undertaken lightly, nor is it a document that should be executed without the advice of counsel.

If you have any questions as to whether these documents are applicable to your personal situation, New York Trusts and Estates Attorney Apryl Hand and her team are available. Contact Lewis & Hand, LLP for your initial consultation.