White Peck Carrington, LLP has the oldest and most experienced estate planning, probate and elder law practice in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky and one of the oldest and most experienced in the surrounding area.
Estate Planning
The estate planning and elder law attorneys at White Peck Carrington provide a wide range of services for clients who want to be responsible in protecting their assets and assuring that their hard earned money and property is not diminished before their death, so that it can easily pass to the people they want it to go to after their death.
As one of our estate planning attorneys, Alan B. Peck, routinely tells his clients during their first vist, "the primary goal in estate planning is very simple - to get as much of what you have to the people you want it to go to when you are no longer here".
We assist individuals, families and business owners to make sure their assets will be distributed according to their wishes and at the lowest possible tax cost. There is no single answer to obtaining these objectives. Since every person's goals are different, our experienced estate planning attorneys can structure your estate plan to meet your specific needs and wishes by reviewing and evaluating each client's particular situation and giving advice on what a person's estate plan should be and then preparing the appropriate documents.
We offer numerous probate and non-probate estate planning tools including:
- Simple and Complex Wills
- Trusts - testamentary and living trusts, including revocable trusts, irrevocable trusts, life insurance trusts, special needs trusts, etc.
- Financial Powers of Attorney
- Health Care Powers of Attorney
- Living Wills
- Long-Term care and Medicaid planning
- Business succession planning
As your life changes, your estate planning goals and needs will change so you may need to modify and update your estate plan throughout your lifetime. Divorce, remarriage and adding children or a new beneficiary, starting or selling a family business and other subsequent events may require restructuring an estate plan to meet your changing needs.
Probate
When a person passes away owning real estate or personal property, their estate must be "settled". This is generally referred to as "going through probate". The attorneys at White Peck Carington have extensive experience providing a variety of services relating to an expeditious, effective and cost effective settlement of a deceased person's estate.
If a deceased person dies without a Last Will and Testament, they are referred to as having died "intestate" and an administrator must be appointed by the District Court in the County of their last residence to wind up and settle the person's affairs and distribute surplus assets to his or her spouse, if any, and/or heirs at law as specified by Kentucky law.
If a person dies with a Last Will and Testament, they are referred to as having died "testate" and their Will must be "admitted to probate" (a District Counrt Judge determining it was executed properly according to law) and the person or persons named as executor(s) in the Will must be appointed by the District Court Judge to wind up and settle the deceased person's affairs and distribute their assets according to the provisions of the Will.
Settlement of estates have to be done at a time when having to deal with such matters can be very difficult for the family left behind. The attorneys and staff at White Peck Carrington are very sensitive to this and strive to make every aspect of the state settlement process proceed as easily as possible.
Contrary to a widely held belief, we do not charge for probate and estate settlement on a percentage of the value of the estate. We simply handle probate and estate settlements on an hourly fee for services basis. You also hear stories about probate and estate settlement taking years to complete. That's not the case at White Peck Carrington, LLP. We endeavor to complete the settlement of most estatess within nine (9) months from your first visit to us.
Elder Law
In the elder law area, which is very complex and ever changing, we consult with clients and their families on how to avoid having their life savings and property vanish before their eyes if a family member were to be institutionalized in a nursing home. To be the most effective in accomplishing this objective, the process must be started well in advance of the family member being admitted to a nursing home.
An area of elder law we are consulted about on a regular basis is Medicaid "estate recovery". If a person qualifies for Medicaid to pay for their stay in a Nursing Home and, at the same time, are able to keep their personal residence until their death, Medicaid has an unrecorded "claim" on the personal residence equal to the amount Medicaid has paid to keep the family member in the Nursing Home. We can help you or your family member diminish and, in some cases, eliminate the impact of Medicaid estate recovery.
The attorneys and staff at White Peck Carrington serve clients in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, the communities of Owingsville, Frenchburg, Morehead, Stanton, Winchester, Paris, Carlisle and Flemingsburg, the counties of Montgomery, Bath, Menifee, Rowan, Powell, Clark, Bourbon, Nicholas and Fleming, and the surrounding areas.
To discuss issues related to estate planning, probate and/or elder law, call White Peck Carrington, LLP at (859) 498-2872 or contact us online at http://whitepeckcarrington.com.
26 Broadway | P.O. Box 950