The Estate Planning Process in Nebraska 

“Estate Planning” is a process bringing to bear a broad range of practical and professional legal knowledge and services to meet your lifetime, incapacity, end of life, and after death objectives. 

The Process 

In each situation, our clients bring us multiple planning objectives, various family relations and dynamics, and multiple categories of assets that need to be addressed. 

“Estate Planning” is the process of bringing to bear GWMC’s broad range of practical and professional legal knowledge to meet those objectives during different stages of your life, especially during retirement, incapacity, end of life, and after death. 

Many of our clients bring us objectives that start with financial protection of loved ones including your spouse, children, and future generations. But we’ve learned to never lose sight of the fact that you need to protect and provide for yourself during your lifetime, and especially in the event of an incapacity. This is why, in addition to a Will, we recommend an effective Nebraska Estate Planning Process include: 

  • Durable Powers of Attorney 
  • Health Care Powers of Attorney 
  • HIPAA Releases; Living Wills 
  • and possibly a Living Trust 

These are the essential parts of an effective estate planning process. 

Objectives 

Other common estate planning objectives may include: 

  • Lifetime gifting or bequests at death 
  • Protection of loved ones through asset management especially for, underage, incapacitated, spendthrifts and those eligible for means tested governmental benefits; e.g., Special Needs Planning 
  • Minimizing death taxes 
  • Minimizing income taxes for survivors 
  • Charitable giving. 

Your Unique Family Relationships 

Planning for different family relationships can be simple or complex, especially in the case of blended families. Some clients have plans for their children, their grandchildren, or other situations where family relationships are difficult. 

Categories of Assets 

Assets we’ve made estate plans for typically have money value such as homes, farms, businesses, retirement accounts. However, it’s not uncommon to make plans for assets with sentimental or family history values. Business assets have their own unique planning requirements that may include helping with the transition of management and/or ownership. Especially closely held businesses or family farms. 

Throughout the estate planning process, GWMC’s team focuses on understanding your unique objectives and situation. Once we’re clear on what you expect, we take extra care to make sure you understand what we propose, and exactly how your final plan and the documents we prepare will work. Once we’re both clear that your objectives, family relationships, assets and other things of interest to you will be met, we’ll finish developing an integrated plan coordinating your lifetime and post-death wishes and objectives. 

Our Objective Is to Help You Feel Comfortable 

GWMC helps you understand and feel comfortable with your estate planning decision. 

Effective estate planning in Nebraska requires knowledge and experience in the law: 
 

  • Drafting Wills and Trusts 
  • Durable Powers of Attorney 
  • Health Care Powers of Attorney 
  • Living Wills 
  • and Estate and Trust Administration. 

Estate planning and elder law counseling requires thorough knowledge of laws relating to guardianships; conservatorships; long-term care insurance; Medicare and Medicaid; taxation of retirement accounts; ERISA retirement plan rights; business law for closely held businesses and limited liability companies; and creditors’ rights and asset protection. 

GWMC is committed to helping you make informed and conscious choices. We help you clarify your priorities and goals to simplify the planning process. We help you control your legacy. 

GWMC takes pride in our commitment to ensuring families understand and feel comfortable with their estate planning decisions. We address your needs, understand your particular family dynamics, and work to make sure your wishes are met both now and in the future. 

  • Control of your assets while you are alive and well 
  • Protect yourself, your spouse, and your assets in the event one or both become incapacitated 
  • Transfer assets at death to beneficiaries, while promoting family harmony and security 

Talk to the attorneys at GWMC about your planning questions. Call us at (402) 392-1500 today.