An estate plan allows you to prepare for your future, protect your assets, and provide for your family. Your estate plan formulated only after working with an experience estate planning attorney. To prepare for your first meeting with attorney Brenda Rosten, you may wish to print, review, and complete a Confidential Estate Planning Worksheet. Please click on this link to obtain a Confidential Estate Planning Worksheet (PDF Document).
What is your estate? Simply, it is the stuff you own! Your estate includes:
your home and any real estate in which you have an interest
your tangible personal property such as your clothes, jewelry, furniture, and vehicles
your intangible personal property such as your bank and investment accounts, insurance proceeds, pension and Social Security benefits
Your estate plan is a blueprint for:
managing your estate during your lifetime
managing your estate during your incapacity
providing for your dependants upon your incapacity or death
distributing your property upon your death according to your wishes
there may not be another person legally entitled to make decisions on your behalf
a person, not of your choosing, may get to make decisions for you
necessary medical treatment may be delayed
your bills may go unpaid because there is no one authorized to make payments for you
your family or creditors may need to petition a court to have a Guardian or Conservator [link these two terms to the definitions page] appointed for you
If you do have an estate plan:
you have the ability to name a Personal Representative for your estate
you get to decide who gets what from your probate estate
you are able to name a Guardian for your minor children
you can designate a Trustee to manage any part of your estate that is held in trust
you have the opportunity to reduce probate costs because there is a plan
An effective estate plan is made by working with an experienced estate planning attorney. To prepare for your appointment with your estate planning attorney, you should consider and come prepared to discuss the following:
the people you wish to have inherit from your estate
your assets, how they are titled, and what beneficiary designations you have made
your debts and liabilities
whether you want to make any charitable gifts upon your death
who you would want to serve as your Personal Representative at your death, and your Agent if you become incapacitated
if you have minor children, who you would want to name as your childrens guardian and trustee of any assets held in trust for them
Your estate plan does need to be reviewed and possibly updated after it has been signed. It is important to talk with your estate planning attorney and request a review of your estate plan every few years, and especially following these events:
important life events, such as a marriage, divorce, birth or adoption of children, and death of someone named in your Will
major financial changes, such as receiving an inheritance, winning the lottery, experiencing a dramatic change in personal assets, or buying a farm or business
when there has been a significant change in tax or other laws
1323 23rd St S, Suite K
Fargo, ND 58103
Phone: (701) 364-0154
Fax: (701) 364-0388
Please understand that the contents of this web site are provided to be thought-provoking only, and this information is not intended to be legal advice for your unique circumstances. Always consult your personal attorney before making decisions which have legal consequences.
Your estate plan is a blueprint for: