Planning is one of the most important things you can do to protect yourself and your family’s financial security. Many people think they do not need to start their estate planning until later in life, but it is essential to start planning as soon as possible.
At Reha | Goodwin | Caras, our lawyers pride themselves on helping families in the Littleton area and throughout Colorado protect their financial future. We provide honest and straightforward advice to the families we support. Our goal is to ensure that all your legal questions are addressed and that you are secure in the future. Ready to start planning your estate? Call us at 303-932-1222.
Our team is well-versed in helping individuals understand their estate planning options. We help families work out issues such as:
An estate plan is essential to ensure that your finances are handled as you would like after your death and that the correct decisions are made for you when you can no longer. We offer compassionate probate advocacy and will work to ensure that your wishes are upheld.
We offer a multifaceted approach to estate planning, business protection, and asset management. By focusing on clear communication and careful drafting, we help individuals, families, and companies develop proactive strategies that avoid costly legal complications.
Below are key practice areas illustrating how we safeguard our clients’ interests.
An advance directive addresses essential healthcare decisions if you lose the ability to articulate personal preferences. By setting parameters for life support, resuscitation, or organ donation, you provide your loved ones with precise instructions that reflect deeply held values.
We promote sensitive dialogue around potential scenarios—palliative care, ventilator use, or specific medical treatments—so you leave nothing to chance. These documents are especially helpful in avoiding confusion among family members during emotionally challenging times. We also help clarify the role of healthcare agents or proxies so those chosen feel confident in carrying out your wishes without conflict.
An advance directive provides consistency in unison with powers of attorney and other legal documents. If properly incorporated into an estate plan, it diminishes confusion when time is of the essence.
Thorough discussions may involve moral or spiritual considerations, ensuring the document aligns with your views. A well-crafted directive can prevent disputes among relatives uncertain about how to honor your wishes, easing the burden on everyone involved.
Whether the goal is aggressive treatment or minimal intervention, clarifying it ahead of time through legal counsel ensures medical providers have an unambiguous guide. We also maintain updated templates in line with Colorado law and help coordinate updates to your file when healthcare circumstances or personal preferences evolve.
Irrevocable trusts can be crucial for those seeking asset protection and structured wealth transfer. By relinquishing direct control and ownership, the grantor helps insulate assets from certain creditors, potential lawsuits, or unforeseen liabilities.
This type of trust also offers possible estate tax advantages. We discuss whether an irrevocable trust fits your situation and detail the benefits and obligations, including trustee roles and distribution protocols. Irrevocable trusts can help shield long-term assets from depletion and ensure a clear inheritance path for beneficiaries, especially when large estates or complex holdings are involved.
When used for family businesses, irrevocable trusts maintain ownership stakes beyond the grantor’s lifetime. We investigate each client’s net worth, philanthropic objectives, and generational plans, ensuring the trust’s terms match long-term goals.
These trusts may prove essential for Medicaid planning, allowing you to preserve assets while possibly qualifying for future benefits. We underscore the importance of methodical planning because irrevocable trusts cannot usually be changed once in place.
You receive clarity on funding the trust, finalizing documentation, and ensuring correct asset transfers. We also assist with aligning the trust with corporate governance structures, where applicable. We can coordinate with outside CPAs or financial advisors to adequately support the tax and reporting aspects.
A power of attorney (POA) grants another person the authority to act on your behalf in financial, legal, or personal matters. Should you become unable to manage your affairs, the designated agent steps in.
We craft POAs that specify how and when powers commence, immediately or upon an event like incapacity. Our attorneys advise limiting or expanding these duties, ensuring each POA reflects your comfort level. This tool can prevent costly disruptions for business owners by allowing designated agents to authorize transactions or manage contractual obligations during emergencies.
Choosing the right agent is crucial. We evaluate candidate trustworthiness, organizational skills, and willingness to take the role.
A properly established POA curtails potential confusion if urgent transactions or contract signings are required. It also protects against court-ordered guardianship, which can be more burdensome.
By advising periodic reviews, we help our clients keep pace with changing personal dynamics, financial developments, or new business ventures. We also help structure layered POAs, assigning alternate agents to ensure someone is always legally empowered to act if needed.
Probate is the legal process for settling a deceased individual’s estate, including verifying wills, identifying assets, and addressing creditors’ claims. Though often viewed as time-consuming, probate provides a structured framework for ensuring beneficiaries receive what the decedent intended.
Personal representatives face numerous administrative obligations, such as inventorying possessions, filing documents within deadlines, and meeting notices to claimants. With our guidance, they avoid typical pitfalls that can cause delays or expose them to liability. Under Colorado’s simplified administration rules, we assist with ancillary probate, cross-state filings, and minor estate procedures.
When heirs challenge a will or question asset allocations, our experienced counsel can facilitate mediation or, if necessary, court proceedings. We aim to uphold the deceased’s wishes while reducing tension among relatives.
Prompt and thorough communication informs beneficiaries of their inheritance timeline, any outstanding debts, and updates on procedural steps. By combining detailed organization with a deep understanding of probate law, we efficiently move estates through the process.
Beneficiaries gain confidence that everything is handled correctly, while personal representatives benefit from clear instructions on fulfilling their responsibilities. We also address disputes involving blended families or estranged heirs, focusing on preserving family relationships whenever possible.
A revocable trust, sometimes called a living trust, offers flexibility and privacy. The grantor retains power to alter or revoke the trust during their lifetime, accommodating changes in finances, property ownership, or family circumstances.
Assets within a revocable trust often bypass significant probate measures, allowing heirs to inherit with fewer formalities. However, we underscore the importance of accurately funding the trust, transferring titles, and updating records whenever new assets arise. We review beneficiary designations regularly and ensure property deeds reflect trust ownership to prevent unintended probate complications.
Since revocable trusts can be adapted as situations evolve, they are commonly paired with pour-over wills. If items remain outside the trust, the pour-over will directs them into it upon death, consolidating assets for simpler distribution.
This complementary setup ensures comprehensive asset coverage and clarifies exactly who inherits. Placing specific holdings in a revocable trust can streamline continuity for business owners should the grantor become incapacitated.
Successor trustees may assume control promptly. We advise on successor trustee provisions and help avoid disputes over trust interpretation or administrative responsibilities after incapacity or death.
Wills remain foundational to most estate plans. They document who inherits real estate, personal belongings, and other valuables. State laws determine heirs without a will, ignoring unique preferences or relationships.
We ensure that each will accurately reflect your priorities. This might involve specifying guardians for minor children, dividing assets among various beneficiaries, or making charitable bequests. Precise drafting reduces conflicts and demonstrates your intent.
While trusts can manage significant portions of an estate, a will still fills any gaps. Individuals with complex holdings often combine wills with other arrangements, guaranteeing no property remains unaddressed.
Because life circumstances evolve—through marriage, divorce, births, or acquisitions—updating a will is essential. We verify that these updates remain legally valid, preventing confusion over which version applies.
You’ll also receive guidance on executor selection, ensuring a reliable person carries out the will’s terms.
Each planning tool serves a distinct function. Advance directives guide medical decisions, while wills specify asset distribution.
Trusts—irrevocable or revocable—address business continuity and estate tax concerns. Powers of attorney help keep finances in order if incapacity arises. By weaving these elements into a balanced approach, we help you avoid pitfalls when plans are outdated or incomplete.
Our service is based on proactive communication. We translate your goals into coordinated legal instruments and recommend adjustments as circumstances evolve.
Our experience spans estate law, business law, and asset protection. This allows us to create integrated strategies for individuals, families, and businesses. That coordination ensures your legal and financial intentions remain aligned across all areas of your plan.
From authorizing trusted agents to managing generational wealth transfers, our planning services reduce legal uncertainty. When you work with Reha Goodwin Caras LLP, you gain the reassurance that knowledgeable legal guidance is always within reach. We refine structures thoughtfully, so you’re prepared for the expected and the unexpected.
If you own a business, passing it along after your death can be complicated. We will work with you to protect your family and business assets through estate planning. You can explicitly state what happens to your business and assets after you pass, and we will ensure that your business transition is smooth.
Our firm will work quickly and diligently to resolve any issues and create a plan for the future that you are happy with. To start planning your estate, call Reha | Goodwin | Caras at 303-932-1222 or contact us online.
