Practice Areas

Estate Planning

Eau Claire, Wisconsin Estate Planning Attorneys

The estate planning attorneys of Herrick & Hart help families in Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls, Menomonie, Hudson, Rice Lake, Superior, Wausau, LaCrosse, and everywhere in between, protect their assets and avoid or minimize probate costs and estate taxes by creating legal documents such as wills, trusts, durable powers of attorney and living wills.

Here is an overview of estate planning documents, and what they do for you:

• A Will spells out what you would like to be done with your assets upon your death. Creating a will allows you to decide who receives your assets after you die, rather than letting a court decide. A will also allows you to specify who you would like to take care of your minor children if you and your spouse should die in a common accident.
   
• A Living Trust allows you to avoid probate by leaving assets in a trust that can be passed directly to beneficiaries upon your death, without court involvement.
   
• A Durable Power of Attorney for Finances names a trusted person to make financial decisions for you if you are unable to make them yourself. This will avoid the cost, time, and hassle of having someone go to Court to be appointed as your guardian.
   
• A Living Will specifies what you want or don't want for medical treatment if you are unable to express those wishes yourself. This will allow you to control the extent to which you will receive medical treatment.
   
• A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care names a person to make medical decisions for you if you are unable to make them yourself. This allows someone you trust to be appointed to make the medical decisions for you, in order to avoid having somebody appointed by the Court to make these important decisions.
   
• A Marital Property Agreement is an agreement between two parties who are married, handling marital assets during the marriage. This agreement also specifies what happens to property in the event of divorce or death. Wisconsin is essentially a community property state, so marital property agreements need to be written in such a way that they are enforceable. A marital property agreement is similar to prenuptial agreement, but is made after marriage.
   

We also assist executors and administrators in probate proceedings, which is the court process of distributing assets to beneficiaries and paying bills after someone's death. If someone failed to create a Durable Power of Attorney for finances and health care, we can handle guardianship and conservatorship proceedings to enable a responsible family member to take care of an elderly parent who is no longer able to do so himself or herself.

More information about family law and divorce can be found in the FAQs section or by clicking on these titles:

Should I Have A Will?
Basic Estate Planning Documents

Estate Planning Attorneys

Please contact us for help with your legal needs or concerns.