Heugly and Bludworth Attorneys at Law > Estate Planning

Trusted Estate Planning Attorneys in Salt Lake City, Utah

No matter your age, or the size of your estate, everyone deserves to feel confident that their wishes will be respected after they are gone. For nearly two decades, the skilled Salt Lake City estate planning lawyers at Utah’s Lawyers have helped our fellow Utah residents design protective legal resources that fit their unique goals.

Our Salt Lake County estate planning attorneys provide legal solutions for individuals, couples, and families alike, so they can identify their goals, and successfully plan for their implementation now and going forward.

Whether you have just purchased your first home or have substantial assets you would like to transfer into a trust, we can help develop a customized estate plan that fits your overall objectives. Contact us today to learn more.

Utah’s Lawyers Salt Lake City Estate Planning Attorney Practice Areas

At Utah’s Lawyers, our estate planning lawyers in Salt Lake City believe that individuals, couples, and families should know exactly who they are trusting with their futures.

We provide personalized legal services and strategies for all Utah residents, in the areas where they need an expert most, including:

Estate Planning
Wills and Trusts
Powers of Attorney
Estate Administration and Probate
Special Needs Planning
Asset Protection
Guardianships

Our law firm operates with complete transparency, which allows our expertise, honesty, and integrity to lead our clients down their uniquely protected paths. Contact us today to learn how we can help you develop an estate plan that fits your and your family’s needs.

Why Should I Prepare an Estate Plan?

Creating an estate plan allows you to create and maintain legal documents that specify how you want your money and other assets distributed, making it easier for your loved ones to manage your affairs should you become incapacitated or deceased.

Estate plans are unique to each person who creates one, based on their current needs and future objectives. They may include designating powers of attorney, establishing beneficiaries, creating a will, or transitioning their assets to a living trust. We can help with each process, so you are fully protected while you are enjoying life, should the unthinkable happen, and after you are gone.

What Types of Power of Attorneys are Available in Utah?

Utah estate plans typically include two types of Power of Attorney (POA):

Financial POA: Allows a designated individual or party to manage your financial or business matters, should you become incapacitated or at the time of death.
Healthcare POA: Allows a designated individual or party to make medical decisions on your behalf. A healthcare POA is combined with a living will and is called an advance healthcare directive.

Does an Estate Plan Help My Family Avoid Probate in Utah?

Probate is the formal, court-supervised procedure designed to identify all assets owned by a deceased person. Probate also identifies the individual’s creditors and beneficiaries and distributes their assets accordingly. Because probate is a formal court proceeding, with mandated waiting periods, even uncontested probate can last for a year or more and cost several thousands of dollars, leaving families with few options to move forward until the process is completed.

There are multiple ways an estate plan may help your family avoid probate.

A deceased person’s property must pass through probate if it is held in the decedent’s name at the time of death unless it was held in joint tenancy with another person or has a valid beneficiary designation.

Joint ownership, which is property owned with another person, will be distributed to the surviving owner automatically upon the other person’s death. In these cases, where the surviving person can prove ownership, no probate will be necessary to transfer the property.

Joint tenancy often works well for couples, whether they are married or not, who own equal shares of real estate, vehicles, bank accounts, or other valuable property together.

You may also create payable-on-death or transfer-on-death designations for bank accounts, stocks and bonds, and real estate which allows you to remain in control of the assets until your death. If there are any account funds left, the beneficiary can claim the money directly from the bank, or the stock/bonds account or real estate can be transferred without probate court proceedings.

Additional ways to avoid probate include creating a living trust that covers your specific wishes whether you become incapacitated or upon death. A trust is more involved than a will and gives the person more control over their assets in life and after death.

Your estate plan is unique to your needs. We can help you understand your estate planning legal options, so no detail is left to chance.

Experienced Attorneys, Real Results: We are Utah’s Lawyers, Heugly & Bludworth Attorneys at Law

At Utah’s Lawyers, our dedicated Salt Lake City estate planning attorneys provide unique legal insight and customized strategies that allow individuals, couples, and families to plan for both their current goals and future needs while simultaneously preparing for the unknown.

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