Whether you have a large estate or own a few assets, it helps to have a clear plan in place in the event of your incapacitation or death. Failing to prepare an estate plan can make settling your affairs more complicated for your family and beneficiaries.
Why Estate Planning Matters for Central Indiana Families
Estate planning isn't just for one type of person or one stage of life. It's a young family in Fishers buying their first home and wondering, for the first time, who would raise their kids if something happened to them. It's a longtime homeowner in Indianapolis watching decades of home equity and retirement savings add up without a plan to match. It's a small business owner in Carmel who's built something worth protecting, or a widow in Noblesville revisiting a will that hasn't been touched since it was written. Wherever you fall in that range, the value of having a plan — rather than leaving those decisions to a court — doesn't change.
What Is Estate Planning?
Estate planning is a legal procedure of making it clearly known how your assets should be handled after your death or incapacitation. An estate plan is usually set up with the help of a lawyer experienced in estate law. Whether you need help creating or updating your current estate plan, attorneys at Dillman & Owen Estate & Elder Law can help.
We have vast experience helping seniors and their loved ones navigate even the most challenging estate planning matters. Through our Life Care Planning Program (which combines estate planning, long-term care, and Medicaid planning), we help individuals and families regularly assess their goals and ensure their estate plans align with them.
Do You Need an Estate Plan?
A common misconception is that estate planning is only for the wealthy class, but the reality is that you may need this legal document even if you have a few assets. Take a young Fishers family with a starter home, a couple of retirement accounts, and two kids under 10 — on paper, that doesn't feel like an "estate." But between rising home equity and even a modest life insurance policy, they may be looking at more than they realize, and more urgently, they need to decide who would raise their kids if something happened to both parents. In simple terms, anyone who wants their wealth to be distributed to one or more survivors after their death should consider creating a formal estate plan through an estate planning attorney.
What Are the Benefits of Hiring Dillman & Owen Estate & Elder Law?
Dillman & Owen Estate & Elder Law is a full-service legal firm with both legal and medical professionals. It is the only legal firm that offers life care planning services in central Indiana, so you can trust our holistic approach in handling your estate planning and long-term care matters.
We will listen to your needs and create a customized estate plan that meets your unique goals. Our legal team also handles the estate planning process professionally from start to finish. Besides creating the plan, we will implement and nurture it by making regular updates according to your needs. We will also help distribute your assets upon death to help your survivors avoid litigation.
What to Expect
- Preparing a will or trust
- Establish your directives, including the power of attorney
- Irrevocable asset protection trusts
- Health care directives
- HIPAA authorization
When you work with Dillman & Owen Estate & Elder Law, you can rest assured your estate will be distributed to the right heirs and beneficiaries and that your financial and family affairs will be kept private. Say a family owns a longtime lake house on Geist Reservoir, titled jointly between aging parents and their adult kids — without the right trust or titling strategy in place, that property could be exposed if one owner ever needs nursing home care, or could get tied up in probate if an owner passes without clear direction. You can also have peace of mind knowing your disabled children or grandchildren will be protected. In addition, we protect your estate until the heirs and beneficiaries are mature enough to handle their inheritance.
Contact Us Now
Ready to get started? Contact our Indiana estate planning attorneys for inquiries and discuss your needs and wishes for the future.
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