ARKANSAS ESTATE PLANNING LAWYERS

A Will is a written document that tells others how and to whom your property should be distributed in the event of your death.  It also names the person whom you want to carry out the terms of your Will.  If you have minor children, your Will appoints a guardian for them.

Each state has certain attestation and execution requirements.  For example, in Arkansas the testator must be at least 18 years of age and of sound mind at the time the Will is executed.  The Will must be witnessed and attested by two qualifying witnesses above the age of 18.  The Testator must declare to the witness that the document is his Last Will and Testament before signing the Will.

If you do not have a valid Will, then your estate is considered intestate and the state in which you reside when you die will determine who receives your property.  Your wishes as to the distribution of your property are not considered.

While wills can serve as powerful estate planning tools, they are only effective if they are properly drafted and executed to suit the needs of each individual.  One of our attorneys can review all your options with you and draft a will in a manner that ensures your wishes will be honored.  If you already have a will then the attorneys can review your current will and recommend any necessary changes to you. In addition to attorneys practicing in Arkansas, we also have licensed attorneys in Missouri.

A Will might not accomplish all of your estate planning objectives such as probate avoidance, privacy protection, and asset protection.  You may wish to consider adding a trust to your estate plan.  Trusts may provide you with privacy, tax planning and asset protection.

Trusts are an arrangement where one party holds property on behalf of another.  In an estate planning context, trusts are created by the person, a settlor, who authorizes another person (the trustee) to manage the assets for the benefit of a third party (the beneficiaries).  There are many reasons for establishing trusts including minimization of taxes or providing for the needs of underage beneficiaries.

All of the attorneys at Hyden, Miron and Foster, PLLC, are knowledgeable in the use of various Trusts and are available to assist you with your needs.

Children are the greatest assets that parents have and an integral part of the estate planning process. Your children’s well-being is only ensured with proper planning and while most parents hate to think about leaving their children before they are adults, it is essential that this possibility be considered and an effective plan formulated.  If you have not yet created a plan that adequately provides for your children, we encourage you to contact our knowledgeable estate planning attorneys today.

If you currently provide care for a child or loved one with special needs (such as mental or physical disabilities), you must have thought what happens to him or her when you are no longer able to serve as the caretaker.

While you can certainly plan for your loved one to receive money and assets upon your passing, such a bequest may prevent them from qualifying for essential benefits under the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid programs.  If you do not leave them any assets, the benefits provided by these and other programs are generally limited to the bare necessities such as food, housing and clothing.  As you can imagine, these limited benefits will not provide the resources that would allow your loved one to enjoy a richer quality of life.  Fortunately, the government has established rules allowing assets of the individual with special needs to be held in trust, called a “Special Needs” or “Supplemental Needs” Trust without resulting in disqualification for SSI and Medicaid, as long as certain requirements are met.

 Our law firm can help you set up a special needs trust so that government benefit eligibility is preserved while at the same time providing assets that will meet the supplemental needs of the person with a disability (those that go beyond food, shelter, and clothing and the medical and long term support and services of Medicaid).

Nontraditional families take many forms – such as a grandmother raising a grandchild via an informal custodial arrangement.

Given the complexity of laws affecting nontraditional families, our law firm can assist with your available options.  At the conclusion of representation, you and your family will be armed with the necessary knowledge and legal documents to ensure that you will be in control of your family’s assets and vital matters impacting your family.

You've worked hard your whole life to provide for your family and make your loved ones more secure. Without advanced estate planning strategies, many of your hard earned assets may end up with the IRS and state taxing authorities.

Our firm regularly assists affluent families with such sophisticated planning strategies as Family Limited Partnerships or Limited Liability Companies, Personal Residence Trusts, Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts and a wide range of charitable gifting techniques to reduce federal estate taxes, gift taxes and generation skipping transfer taxes.

Our firm is dedicated to helping clients make educated, informed decisions about their assets and will work with you and your team of financial advisors and accountant to implement a sophisticated and effective estate plan that allows for the maximum transfer of assets to your loved ones.

Asset protection encompasses various planning and structuring alternatives that may be used to shield an individual's assets from creditors.  A creditor can be anyone with a claim on your assets: your business partner, your bank, the Internal Revenue Service, and even your former spouse.  Asset protection planning is a legal means of structuring your asset ownership and your business affairs to protect your family’s assets and net worth from creditors and law suits. The methods used must be tailored to fit the client's needs and must be legal and ethical.

Some common asset protection tools we use include:

• Corporations
• Limited liability companies
• Partnerships
• Trusts (including trusts in jurisdictions affording more protection)
• Pet Trusts
• Pre-marital and post-marital agreements

At Hyden, Miron & Foster, PLLC, our attorneys assist in the selection and implementation of various charitable techniques available to clients whose planning goals are charitable.  The Internal Revenue Code provides many tax incentives for individuals and their estates to make contributions to qualified charities.  We often incorporate client's charitable intentions into their estate documents.  If an immediate gift is the client's desire, our attorneys will analyze the selection, timing and type of gift to best benefit both the client and the charitable organization.

Some tools utilized by our attorneys to achieve these charitable goals include:

• Endowments
• Foundations
• Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust
• Charitable Remainder Unitrust
• Charitable Lead Trust
• Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts
• IRA and Qualified Retirement Plan Beneficiary Designations