Estate Planning Services in Virginia from Chesapeake Family Attorneys

While having a will may provide some security to your loved ones after your death, comprehensive estate planning can lead to maximum benefits for you now and your loved ones later. The professional lawyers at Shannon & Associates, P.C. can help you create a plan that fits your needs.

Estate planning on your part helps lessen your family’s stress through the probate process by creating a plan that effectively disposes of your property after your death. Our lawyers at Shannon & Associates, P.C. can assist you in drafting various documents to carry out your postmortem goals, including:

There are many options to help ensure your goals are carried out effectively after your death, but the coordination of all of these is essential to help prevent any unexpected consequences. Some tools available to carry out your goals after your death include:

• Wills: A will is a document through which you designate the destination of your property, real and personal. Certain legal limitations exist — for example, your estate must satisfy taxes so that certain beneficiaries (individuals for whom you provided to receive your property) may receive the property per your will. That is the reason estate planning is so important. Our attorneys study the consequences of your will and the legal requirements in order to maximize the property disposition according to your goals.
• Guardianships and conservatorships: Our attorneys help you plan in case you become physically or mentally incapacitated and deemed legally unable to make decisions. Through a court-supervised guardianship, an individual is appointed to care for your affairs, according to your previously decided instructions. The guardianship lasts until you are no longer deemed legally incapacitated or until your death.
• Powers of attorney. This gives someone else the power to make decisions on your behalf. It helps protect your property by allowing someone else to step into your shoes and even go to court to enforce any rights you have in the specific property designated in a power of attorney. A power of attorney is helpful when you are in frail health and could benefit from having someone else undertake the burden of taking action.

Shannon & Associates, P.C. serves the Norfolk, Chesapeake and Virginia Beach areas in family and estate law matters. Our office is conveniently located near the Greenbrier Mall and is accessible via I-64 and public transportation. Call (757) 228-5529 or send us a message to get started with your estate planning process.