 Atlanta
Estate Planning
What is estate planning? Estate planning has many benefits:
- Lets one take control of their property, assets and body in
the event of their death or incapacity in the same manner as if
one were legally of good mental and physical capacity.
- Enables one to dictate how their assets and body are to be managed
if incapacitated and if dead, to be able to control who gets their
assets, when they get the assets and how they should get the assets,
all at the least amount of cost possible.
- You don't have to be rich to benefit
from estate planning. The idea is the same, no matter the size
of the
estate.
The Key Word: "Control"
Do you want to be the one who decides what happens or do you wish
for some third party, like your government, to be making your decisions
for you? In making the decisions, there is not necessarily any right
or wrong as you have the right to do whatever you wish with your
assets.
Express Your True Feelings
My philosophy of estate planning for my clients is to make sure
that whatever they decide expresses their true feelings and not to
shape them into some "cookie-cutter" mold that is found
in a lot of pre-programmed estate plans. I find that I usually bring
up subjects and ideas that never occurred to people. My experience
in dealing with a large number of peoples' lives has exposed me to
many different situations and problems that have occurred in real
life. I translate that exposure into questions for my clients. It
doesn't matter what decisions my clients make but it is my ethical
obligation to make sure they make informed decisions on a variety
of subjects.
A Simple Will?
You want a simple will, you say? People who tell me that are usually
primarily concerned about the cost of doing their wills, etc. Let
me ask you this: Do you lead a simple life? Most people I know lead
complex lives dealing with a lot of family and economic issues. There
are important issues that need to be dealt with regarding at various
times such things as estate taxation, guardianship for minor children,
the possibility of re-marriage of the surviving spouse and how that
will affect the eventual disposition of assets to the children of
the marriage, the possibility of incapacity, etc.
No Obligation
To keep my clients from worrying about buying a pig-in-a-poke, as
they say, I make this offer to all prospective estate planning clients:
I will do a "no obligations" first consultation to discuss
all the facts of their situation, no matter how long it takes. Once
I have all my questions answered (as well as their questions), I
then will quote a fee to do the work. If for any reason, they decide
they do not wish to proceed at that time, then they will not owe
me one penny for the time we've spent. If they wish to proceed,
then I will receive a retainer upfront and we will go from there.
For those who don't wish to proceed, I can guarantee that they will
at least leave with a lot more knowledge about their respective
situations than when they came in.
If you are concerned about your estate plan, please
contact me and I will be happy to set up your "no
obligations" first consultation. |
If
you are concerned about your Estate Plan, please
contact me and I will be happy to set up your "no obligations"
first consultation.
call 770-919-2558
or complete:
W. Frank Ward, P.C.
Attorney-at-Law
324 Cherokee Street NE
Marietta, Georgia 30060
wfrankwardpc@bellsouth.net
770.919.2558
770.422.8954 (fax)
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