Practice Areas

Estate Planning

Estate Planning, as a process, can be very daunting because most of us do not have any experience with these issues and do not know where to begin. At Opfer | Campbell | Beck P.C., we have a dedicated estate plan department and staff that will assist you with understanding the foundations of planning, your options for how to create and implement a plan, and we will continue to be a resource for you with maintaining that plan for years to come.

Every client and case has different needs, so to begin, we will always provide you with a complimentary hour of our time, and follow this with helpful resources, action items, and options for your planning. There are never any obligations or deadlines to hire us for planning services, but we will be a resource to you and your family to the extent possible.

A valid Will allows you to name the person (Executor / Personal Representative) to handle your affairs after you pass away. If you have minor children, the Will also allows you to nominate guardians to continue providing care. But above all, a Last Will serves as an instruction manual for inheritance, taxes, expenses, etc. The biggest and most difficult misconception, though, is the belief that a Will avoids probate. This is not true! A Will only works *if probate happens* and that usually is not what we want. Wills do still serve important functions, such as appointing guardians if you have minor children, but it is important to work with an estate attorney to understand how you might structure yourself to avoid probate and avoid having to use a Will in the first place.

Also called "Advance Medical Directive" and “Declaration as to Medical Treatment,” the Living Will makes final wishes about life support now, so that your loved ones do not have to make these decisions for you later and at such a difficult time.

Powers of Attorney authorize another person to step into your shoes and take over your affairs if you become "incapacitated," meaning when you lose the ability to make your own decisions. In the estate planning process, it is important to identify the most trusted people to make medical and non-medical decisions for you. Without valid Powers of Attorney, a person (even a spouse!) must be approved by a probate judge to help you, in proceedings we commonly call Guardianship and Conservatorship.

Trusts are not just for the wealthy! Yes, trusts can address estate and gift tax issues when you have “too much money,” but the vast majority of people use trusts for other reasons. Trusts allow you to leave inheritance to young children who cannot manage it themselves, allow you to leave inheritance to disabled heirs (without causing them to lose important benefits, and allow you to create any amount of structure, management, and *protection* for the inheritance you leave behind.

The most common version is a “Revocable Living Trust.” Created by one person or a couple during their lifetime, the trust is “funded” with all their assets while alive, meaning we retitle everything into the trust so that it avoids probate in the future. The trust instructs about how inheritance is held, managed, and distributed when the creator(s) passes away. Living trusts offer maximum flexibility for planning, and a creator can revise the trust as many times as needed while they are still alive. After the creator passes away, Colorado allows a trust to exist and manage assets for up to 90 years!

There are countless reasons to create a trust, and reasons people do not need one, but an estate planning specialist can help you understand if a trust would be right for you.

For more information and resources, please feel free to contact our office and speak with one of our excellent staff members!