Wills, Trusts & Estates

Wills & Trusts At Stuckert and Yates, our experienced estate planning attorneys have been assisting our clients with their estate planning for generations. There are many services available to assist you in creating a simple or complex estate plan so that your estate will be distributed in accordance with your wishes after death.

Our estate planning services include:

Wills
Powers of Attorney for financial and medical decision making
Living Wills (Advance Health Care Directives)
Trusts
Estate Litigation
Standby (Emergency) Guardianships for Minor Children
Guardianship Petitions for Special Needs Minors and Adults

What is a Will?

A Last Will and Testament is a document that controls your probate assets after death, and distributes property to your named beneficiaries. Probate property is property that does not pass to another person pursuant to a beneficiary designation, via trust, or to a joint owner of the property. A Will also names your Executor or Executrix, which will be the person that will carry out your wishes, and can also name the Guardian of your minor children, so that someone is assigned to care for your children should something happen to you.

If you die without a Will, Pennsylvania law will govern who will receive your probate assets. To control what happens to your property, contact our attorneys at Stuckert and Yates, who have been assisting our clients with their estate planning needs for decades. What you can expect: Not one-size-fits-all, cookie cutter printouts, but customized, thorough reflections of your goals for the people who matter most to you and the organizations you want to benefit during your lifetime and after your death.

Powers of Attorney

1) Durable Powers of Attorney

In certain circumstances, it may be appropriate for you to put in place a durable power of attorney as part of your estate planning. This type of document will allow you to designate a trusted person to act on your behalf with regard to your legal, financial, and property decisions. This can allow your family and loved ones to act on your behalf. However, a durable power of attorney can be a powerful document, and should not be signed unless and until you speak with an experienced estate planning attorney, so that power over your affairs is properly limited.

2) Health Care Powers of Attorney

There may come a time when it is too difficult or impossible to make your own health care decisions. It is important for you to designate a trusted person in a health care power of attorney to be in charge of your medical decisions if you are unable to make those decisions. In a health care power of attorney, you have the ability to specifically state who may speak on your behalf, and direct that trusted person in advance as to what your health care wishes are. This document will also help to assist your medical providers so that they are aware who they may speak with and listen to for direction regarding your health care.

3) Financial Powers of Attorney

In evaluating your own situation and the titling and circumstances related to your assets with an experienced estate planning attorney, you may consider appointing a financial power of attorney to help you if you are unable to make your own financial decisions. You will want to designate a person who can deal equitably with the people in your life who are close to you, and can interact effectively with each of the financial institutions holding your assets that may require an action to be taken on your behalf.

Living Will

In Pennsylvania, living wills are often referred to as Advance Health Care Directives. There may be times when you will be unable to make your wishes known to your medical provider. For example, you may be suffering from an end-stage medical condition or in a permanent coma, or otherwise unable to inform your medical provider as to what treatment you would or would not prefer in an end of life situation. Your wishes can be relayed to your doctors and other medical professionals in a Living Will (or Advance Directive). Contact our attorneys to further discuss this document and what your wishes and options are.

What Is a Trust?

A trust is a separate legal entity set up to handle your affairs and to hold assets. A trust names beneficiaries who will receive benefits from the trust and indicates when and how benefits will be paid out. Trusts have many uses and can be an important part of your estate plan. They can be created as part of your Will, or they can be separate revocable or irrevocable instruments to serve your estate planning needs.

Guardianship

When an individual does not have a power of attorney in place and is unable to manage his or her own personal, financial or health care decisions, seeking a guardianship may be the best or only option a family member can take to protect that individual's interests. A guardianship is obtained by filing a request with the Court, and if established, can be an effective way to care for an elderly, special needs, or otherwise impaired family member who has become incapacitated. To speak with our attorneys regarding guardianship matters please contact us at 215.968.4700 to schedule a consultation.

Parents can also create a Standby Guardianship for their minor children so that if the worst were to happen (death, incapacity) or if they were to be out of communication with health care providers, a designated person would be able to step in for a short time (up to 60 days) in order to help care for the minor children and assist with important decisions.

Estate Litigation

Disputes regarding estates, trusts, incapacitated persons, and matters related to the property of minors often lead to litigation. Our attorneys practice in the Bucks County Orphans’ Court and surrounding counties, which is the division of the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas that handles these disputes as well as the administration of decedents' estates, the administration and distribution of trusts, guardianship of incapacitated persons, and supervision of agents pursuant to powers of attorney.

If you would like to speak with an attorney regarding a dispute involving an estate or trust, an incapacitated person, guardianship, minor, power of attorney, or a will contest please Contact us or call us at 215.968.4700 to schedule a consultation.

Don F. Marshall, Esquire