Louisville Estate Planning
John H. Ruby & Associates assists clients with their Louisville estate plan. Estate planning is the process by which people decide how their assets will be distributed after death. In order to guarantee that your wishes will be carried out after your death, you will need to craft legally-binding documents such as wills or trusts.
Exploring your options
When forming an estate plan, you will be presented with various options about how to distribute your assets. The type of will or trust you choose will reflect your personal circumstances, such as whether you have children and grandchildren, and the value of your net worth. Our Louisville estate planning attorneys also strive to keep clients informed about changes to state and federal estate planning laws so that they can fully benefit from wills and trusts.
Creating a will
Wills vary in complexity and can clarify important points regarding the future of your estate:
- Delivering instructions and wishes for dividing and distributing your estate
- Appointing an executor of the will’s provision; this is performed when you request or ‘petition’ to probate your will at the Jefferson
- District Court in Louisville
- Appointing a guardian for minor children
- Distributing assets directly to beneficiaries
- Distributing assets to trusts
Creating trusts
Trusts are distinct legal entities into which assets are transferred and held. There are several types of trusts, including family trusts, revocable and irrevocable trusts, and more. Trusts comprise several components:
- Grantor: also known as a trustor or settlor, refers to the person who creates a trust
- Trustee: refers to the person appointed by the grantor to manage the trust for beneficiaries
- Beneficiaries: the person to whom the assets of a trust are being transferred
- Trust agreement: refers to a written document which specifies the terms and conditions of a trust, including the trust’s purpose, the names of trustees and successors, the names of beneficiaries, any special conditions for when and how to transfer assets and finally, what shall happen upon death of the grantor.
Living trusts have the added advantage over wills of avoiding probate taxes. If you are seeking advice concerning your will and trusts, do not hesitate to contact John H. Ruby & Associates to arrange a meeting with a Louisville estate planning attorney.