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Wills, estates and probate
Estate planning for Louisville families.
A will decides what happens after you are gone. The rest of an estate plan decides what happens while you are alive but cannot act: a hospital stay, a decline, an accident. Powers of attorney, healthcare directives and, when they fit, trusts. Justin builds the set your family actually needs.
The documents that let the people you trust act for you.
Most estate planning is not about wealth. It is about making sure that if you are in the ICU, someone can pay your mortgage, talk to your doctors and make decisions you would have made, without going to court for guardianship. A complete Kentucky plan is usually four documents, sometimes five, and Justin explains each in plain English before you sign anything.
The core Kentucky estate plan
- A will. Executor, guardian for minor children, who receives what. See wills.
- A durable power of attorney. Names an agent to handle finances, property and legal matters. Kentucky adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, which sets out what an agent can and cannot do and how the document must be signed. "Durable" means it continues to work if you become incapacitated, which is the entire point.
- A healthcare surrogate designation. Names who makes medical decisions when you cannot, and can include instructions on the decisions you want made.
- A living will directive. Kentucky's statutory form for stating your wishes about life-prolonging treatment, artificial nutrition and organ donation.
- A trust, when appropriate. Not everyone needs one. A revocable living trust can avoid probate, manage assets for a beneficiary who is young or disabled, and keep matters private. Justin will tell you honestly whether one adds value in your situation.
Powers of attorney and healthcare documents must be signed while a person has capacity. Families who wait until a diagnosis has progressed too far are left with guardianship court instead. If a parent is beginning to decline, the time to call is now.
Beneficiary designations and titling
Retirement accounts, life insurance and payable-on-death accounts pass by their beneficiary designations, not by the will. Real estate can pass by survivorship if titled that way. A plan that ignores those designations can be undone by a form filled out at a bank years ago. Justin reviews them as part of every plan so the documents and the accounts say the same thing.
Planning for children and dependents
Guardianship nominations, trusts that hold an inheritance until a child is ready, and special needs planning that preserves public benefits for a disabled family member. These are the provisions a generic plan misses and a family regrets missing.
Small business owners
A business interest is an asset like any other, but one that can lose its value quickly if no one has authority to run it. Powers of attorney, buy-sell arrangements and succession provisions keep the business operating and its value intact for the family.
How the process works
One conversation to understand your family and your assets. A flat-fee quote. Drafts to review in plain English. A signing meeting where everything is executed correctly, with witnesses and a notary. Copies for you and your agents, and the originals kept where your executor can find them.
Common questions
Estate planning: what people ask first.
What is the difference between a power of attorney and a healthcare surrogate?
A power of attorney handles money, property and legal matters. A healthcare surrogate makes medical decisions. They can be the same person but are separate documents, and most people need both.
Do I need a trust?
Not necessarily. Trusts help when avoiding probate is a priority, when a beneficiary needs protection, when privacy matters or when property is owned in more than one state. For many families a will plus beneficiary designations does the job. Justin will not sell you a trust you do not need.
Can my agent under a power of attorney do anything they want?
No. Kentucky's statute limits an agent's authority to what the document grants, imposes fiduciary duties and requires certain powers, such as making gifts or changing beneficiaries, to be expressly stated. Justin drafts the document to give exactly the authority you intend.
What happens to my plan if I move out of Kentucky?
Properly executed Kentucky documents are generally honored in other states, but a review in the new state is wise, especially for healthcare directives, which vary the most.
Ready to put a plan in place, or settle an estate?
One conversation with Justin will tell you what your family actually needs. The first one is free.