Experienced Lawyers To Manage Your Will and Estate
Estate Planning Attorneys in Raleigh and Wendell, NC
Entrust Your Legacy to Our Team
A well-prepared estate plan gives you a say in what happens to your property, who can act on your behalf, and how the people you care about will be provided for. It can also make a difficult time less confusing and stressful for your family.
Kirk, Kirk, Howell, Cutler & Thomas helps individuals and families with estate planning in North Carolina. Our attorneys prepare and review wills, trusts, living wills, powers of attorney, and other documents based on each client’s circumstances. We also help families navigate probate and estate administration after the death of a loved one.
Whether you need an estate planning attorney in Raleigh, NC, a Wendell estate planning attorney, or guidance for a family member’s estate in Wake County, our firm can help you understand your options and decide what belongs in your plan.
Why Estate Planning Matters for North Carolina Families
A will is an important part of an estate plan, but it is not the only document worth considering. Understanding the difference between estate planning and writing a will can help you see how wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and health care documents work together.
Without a valid will, North Carolina law determines who inherits property included in your probate estate. Those rules may not divide your property the way you would have chosen. It can also cause a delay in the administration of your estate. Your family may also be left without clear instructions about your preferred executor or guardian for your minor children.
Estate planning can address decisions that may need to be made during your lifetime as well. A living will can document certain medical wishes, while financial and health care powers of attorney allow you to choose trusted people to handle the matters described in those documents. A health care agent generally acts when you cannot make or communicate your own health care decisions.
Working with a Raleigh wills and estate lawyer gives you the opportunity to put those decisions in writing. An attorney can review your family relationships, property, beneficiary designations, business interests, and health care wishes before recommending documents that fit your situation.
You do not need to wait for a health concern, family emergency, or major financial change to begin planning. Call (919) 365-6000 or request a consultation with an estate planning attorney in Raleigh or Wendell.
Our Estate Planning Services
No two estate plans are exactly alike. Kirk, Kirk, Howell, Cutler & Thomas helps clients prepare documents that reflect their families, property, financial circumstances, and wishes for the future.
Last Will and Testament
A last will and testament explains how property included in your estate should be handled after your death. You can use it to name beneficiaries, leave specific gifts, select an executor, make charitable gifts, and recommend a guardian for minor children.
Your will should reflect your current life rather than the circumstances you had years ago. Marriage, divorce, the birth or adoption of a child, a move, a property purchase, or a change in family relationships may all be reasons to review it.
A will attorney in Raleigh, NC, can explain what a will controls, what may pass outside of it, and why a last will and testament may be an important part of your estate plan.
Living Will
A living will addresses your wishes about life-prolonging measures under certain medical circumstances. It applies while you are living but unable to communicate those wishes yourself.
This document is different from a last will and testament. Your last will addresses property and other matters after your death. A living will gives your family and health care providers written guidance about particular end-of-life decisions.
Because living wills in North Carolina serve a different purpose from wills and powers of attorney, they are often included as one part of a broader estate plan.
Power of Attorney
A power of attorney gives someone you trust the authority to act for you in the matters described in the document.
A financial power of attorney, commonly known as a general power of attorney, may authorize an agent to handle accounts, bills, property, contracts, or other financial responsibilities. The document can be written broadly or limited to particular actions, depending on your needs. A power of attorney can also permit a trusted individual to take steps to protect your estate from Medicaid recovery.
A health care power of attorney serves a different purpose. It allows you to name someone to make health care decisions when you cannot make or communicate those decisions yourself. Our attorneys can explain the different powers of attorney available in North Carolina and how they may fit into your plan.
A very common problem is that family members simply wait too long to get powers of attorney in place. Once a person has dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, or suffers a major medical event, it is generally too late to execute a power of attorney. In that situation, families will spend thousands of dollars and a very significant amount of time going through the court system to have a guardian appointed for their loved one. Executing properly drafted powers of attorney can alleviate the need to ever establish a guardianship through the court system.
Trusts
A trust is an arrangement used to hold and manage property for the people or purposes named in the trust document. It may give you more control over when property is distributed and how it can be used.
For example, a trust may be considered when property is being left to a minor, a beneficiary needs help managing an inheritance, or someone wants distributions to occur over time rather than all at once. Certain property properly transferred to a trust may also pass outside of probate, which is a significant benefit since probate can easily take over a year to complete. It is very common now for clients to establish a revocable, living trust to hold ownership of their real property so that the real property can be transferred to the beneficiaries shortly after death without ever involving the court system. Families have found that having a trust is simply a better way to proceed since it saves substantial time and money upon death, if properly drafted. It also allows your family members to avoid probate, which most people find to be a very stressful and time-consuming process.
A trust does not automatically replace a will. Many people use both because each document handles different parts of an estate plan. In almost all cases, we recommend that a person executing a living trust also execute a pour-over will. This can allow for assets to pass through the trust upon death, even when the assets were not originally titled in the name of the trust. Understanding what a living trust is and how it works can help you decide what questions to discuss with an estate planning attorney.
Probate and Estate Administration
Probate and estate administration are legal processes used to handle a person’s estate after death. The process may involve submitting a will for probate, appointing an executor or administrator, identifying estate property, addressing debts and expenses, and distributing what remains to the rightful beneficiaries and heirs.
Serving as an executor or administrator can be a significant responsibility. Deadlines, notices, inventories, accountings, and other court requirements may apply, depending on the estate. Often, clients hire us to complete an estate administration that they started without an attorney. Routinely, the legal fees incurred by such a client are higher since we must correct errors made during the process. It often costs less money to hire us from the start of the estate administration process versus hiring us to complete the process that was not properly handled. Additionally, clients often cannot believe the amount of time and energy it takes to complete an estate administration. An experienced attorney can always complete the process sooner and for less cost. Another major benefit of hiring our firm is that it is very rare for our clients to ever have to set foot in a courthouse when we handle an estate administration.
Another matter we frequently assist clients and other attorneys with is ancillary administrations. This occurs when a person dies outside of North Carolina, but they own real estate in North Carolina. When this occurs, an ancillary administration almost always must be handled in North Carolina. This allows for the heirs or beneficiaries to inherit the real estate located in North Carolina. Without the ancillary administration being properly handled, title to the North Carolina real estate never vests in the decedent’s heirs and beneficiaries. We are happy to assist out-of-state attorneys and out-of-state executors and administrators with the North Carolina ancillary estate.
Kirk, Kirk, Howell, Cutler & Thomas helps executors, administrators, beneficiaries, and families with probate and estate administration in Raleigh and Wendell, and throughout North Carolina, from understanding their initial responsibilities through completing the required estate filings. Our experienced attorneys have handled estate administrations from the mountains to the coast. We often represent out-of-state executors and administrators. Almost all matters can be handled without our clients having to come to our office or ever set foot in the courthouse.
Guardianship Planning for Minor Children
Parents can use a last will and testament to recommend the person they would want to serve as guardian for a minor child. While the clerk of the superior court makes the final appointment, the parents’ written recommendation gives the clerk and the family clear guidance about their wishes. It is rare for the clerk of court to go against a parent’s wishes expressed in a properly drafted last will and testament. However, without properly establishing your wishes before you pass, a clerk of superior court or a judge will decide who will raise your children and who will be in charge of their inheritance. This is simply not a decision you should leave to the court system.
Parents should also consider what will happen to property left to a child. Because a minor cannot manage a substantial inheritance alone, a trust or another planning arrangement may be used to name an adult to manage the property until the child reaches an age specified in the documents. Without putting a proper estate plan in place, your child will very likely receive 100% of their inheritance on the day they turn 18. There are not many 18-year-olds who are prepared to handle an inheritance.
A North Carolina estate planning attorney can help parents address both the care of their children and the management of property left for them.
How Our Estate Planning Attorneys Can Help
Estate planning involves more than filling in standard documents. The language in one document may affect how another part of the plan works.
Our attorneys can help you:
- Prepare or update a last will and testament
- Create a living will
- Establish financial and health care powers of attorney
- Discuss whether a trust fits your needs
- Recommend a guardian for minor children
- Review how property is titled and how beneficiaries are named
- Plan for family or business interests
- Understand probate and estate administration responsibilities
We work with clients in Raleigh, Wendell, Wake County, and other communities across North Carolina. Whether your plan is straightforward or involves several types of property and family considerations, we take the time to understand what you want it to accomplish. Our guide to estate planning in North Carolina also covers several issues families should consider as they begin the planning process.
Common Will and Estate Questions Answered
Do I really need a will in North Carolina?
A will can be useful even when you do not own a large amount of property. It lets you name beneficiaries, choose an executor, leave specific gifts, and recommend a guardian for minor children.
Without a valid will, North Carolina law determines who receives property included in your probate estate. Writing a will gives you more control over those decisions.
What can I do with a will in North Carolina?
You can use a North Carolina will to name beneficiaries, leave specific property or monetary gifts, select an executor, make charitable gifts, and recommend a guardian for minor children.
A will does not control every asset you own. Property held with certain forms of joint ownership or property with a valid beneficiary designation may pass outside of the will.
What is the difference between a will and a trust?
A will provides instructions for property included in your estate after your death. It also names an executor and can address guardianship recommendations for minor children. The will is submitted through the probate process, although not every asset you own necessarily becomes part of the probate estate.
A trust holds and manages property for its beneficiaries according to the terms written into the trust. Depending on the type of trust and how it is funded, certain trust property may pass outside of probate.
Many estate plans include both a will and a trust because the documents perform different jobs.
When should I update my will?
You should review your will after a significant life or financial change. Common reasons include:
- Marriage or divorce
- The birth or adoption of a child
- The death of a beneficiary, executor, or recommended guardian
- A move to or from another state
- The purchase or sale of significant property
- A major change in finances
- A change in who you want to receive property or act on your behalf
It is also sensible to review an older will periodically, even when no major event has occurred.
Do I need a living will and a power of attorney?
A living will and a power of attorney do different things.
A living will records your wishes about life-prolonging measures under certain medical circumstances. A health care power of attorney names someone to make health care decisions when you cannot make or communicate them. A financial power of attorney authorizes an agent to handle the financial matters described in the document.
Depending on your circumstances, your estate plan may include all three.
What happens if I die without a will?
Dying without a valid will is known as dying intestate. North Carolina’s intestate succession laws determine which relatives inherit property included in the probate estate and the shares they receive. Clients often find the intestate succession laws to be very unfair. Properly drafted estate planning documents give you full control to determine how your assets are distributed when you pass away.
The clerk of the superior court may appoint an administrator to handle the estate. The result may be different from the distribution or representative you would have chosen.
What is probate, and can it be avoided?
Probate generally refers to the court process used to recognize a will and authorize an executor to act. Estate administration is the broader process of identifying estate property, addressing debts and expenses, completing required filings, and distributing the remaining assets.
Not every asset must pass through estate administration. Depending on how property is owned or designated, some assets may transfer through rights of survivorship, a beneficiary designation, or a properly funded trust. An attorney can review how your property would transfer and explain the options that may be available.
Can an estate planning attorney help with guardianship for minor children?
Yes. An estate planning attorney can help parents use their wills to recommend a guardian for their minor children. The attorney can also help plan how money and property left to the children should be managed.
The clerk of the superior court makes the final guardianship appointment, but a clear recommendation in the parents’ wills provides important guidance about their wishes.
Start Your Estate Plan With Kirk, Kirk, Howell, Cutler & Thomas
A clear estate plan can help your family understand your wishes and prepare for the responsibilities that may arise during incapacity or after your death.
Kirk, Kirk, Howell, Cutler & Thomas assists clients with wills, trusts, living wills, powers of attorney, guardianship planning, probate, and estate administration. Our estate planning attorneys serve individuals and families in Raleigh, Wendell, Wake County, and throughout North Carolina.
Call (919) 365-6000 or complete our contact form to schedule a consultation with an estate planning attorney in Raleigh or Wendell.
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Phone: (919) 365-6000
Our Office:
200 North Pine Street
Wendell, NC 27591