Planning Your Legacy With A Comprehensive Will
When you ask yourself, “Who will receive my assets?” you start an important conversation about your legacy. I am Robert A. Grubbs, a will attorney based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I guide individuals and families through the complexities of estate planning, wills and trusts.
I can help you draft clear, legally sound documents, establish living trusts, and prepare your last will and testament. My firm, Grubbs Law Office, makes life planning simple so you know exactly who inherits your home, savings and personal treasures.
Who Is Going To Manage Your Estate?
After you pass away, a personal representative must handle your affairs. Your executor takes charge according to your last will and testament. I help you pick a trusted person, like a family member or a close friend.
If you are over 60, you might choose an adult child to serve as your executor. If you are a younger parent, you can name a guardian for minor children and appoint a co-trustee to manage assets until your kids reach adulthood. Through wills and trusts guidance, my firm ensures your estate moves smoothly and respects your wishes.
Planning For Federal Estate Taxes
Many people worry about federal estate tax when they plan their estate and wills. Even with modest assets, changes in tax rules can affect your heirs. I review your total estate value and look for ways to reduce or avoid taxes.
Sometimes a trust or a gift plan can save your family thousands of dollars. By working with you now, I protect the legacy you leave behind and help your loved ones inherit more of what you earned.
Protecting Younger Families
Young parents often wonder who will care for their children if both parents die. Your will can name a legal guardian and set up a trust that holds money until your kids turn 18 or 21. A trust gives you more control than a simple custodial account under state law.
We can compare options so you decide whether a living trust or a custodial account best fits your family’s needs. I explain these choices and draft documents that grow with your children.
Caring For Disabled Beneficiaries
If you plan to leave assets to someone with special needs, you need more than standard wills. In that case, we set up a supplemental care trust. This trust holds money for health care, housing or daily living expenses without harming government benefits.
As a wills attorney, I help families draft living wills and power of attorney documents that fit special needs planning. My firm makes sure disabled loved ones receive ongoing support and protection.
Frequently Asked Questions About Indiana Wills
Misinformation from other people or popular media can leave people confused about wills. If you are unsure about whether you need a will or what the process of drafting one entails, the questions below could help you determine if it is time to sit down with an estate planning attorney to create an Indiana will.
What happens after I die in Indiana without a valid will?
If you die before you draft a will, the law determines who inherits your property. Spouses and children often inherit from an intestate estate. The exact distribution depends on whether your surviving spouse is also a parent of your children.
The law also allows your parents to inherit if you do not have a spouse or children. Your siblings or their children might inherit if you do not have a spouse, children or surviving parents.
What type of will should I draft?
There are four main types of wills generally recognized in Indiana. You may choose to draft a simple will that names a personal representative and describes how to distribute assets among beneficiaries.
A testamentary trust will is an option if you create and fund a trust. It allows you to control when and how beneficiaries inherit through the trust.
A pour-over will can also be helpful if you create a revocable living trust. It transfers any residual assets into the trust after you die. Joint or reciprocal wills allow spouses to leave all of their property to one another if either dies.
Do I need a lawyer to draft a valid will?
Technically, a lawyer’s assistance is not mandatory. You could handwrite a holographic will. The risk of that approach is that others may not know where you stored the document, and you could also make mistakes when drafting the will that render it invalid.
The same concerns could also apply if you downloaded a fill-in-the-blank will from the internet. An attorney can help you ensure that you comply with the law and that the will you draft achieves the goals you have for your own legacy.
An estate planning lawyer can help validate your capacity, which is a requirement for a valid will in Indiana. They can also help ensure that you meet witness requirements and that the will contains appropriate testamentary language without any illegal or inappropriate provisions.
Take Control Of Your Legacy – Schedule A Free Appointment
Your wishes deserve clear, workable documents. I guide you step-by-step through life planning with wills, living trusts and power of attorney. Contact my firm today for a free consultation at 260-436-9556 or online. Together, we can build a plan that safeguards your legacy and gives you peace of mind.