A Last Will indicates how you want assets distributed at death and names a representative. It is filed with probate court, though our Life & Legacy approach aims to keep families out of court.

Do I need an attorney?

Only if you want to avoid leaving a mess. DIY or non-legal options often create incomplete documents that can lead to court and family conflict.

How much does estate planning cost?

We offer flat-fee, no-surprises pricing tailored to family dynamics and asset complexity, determined during the Life & Legacy Planning process.

A Trust holds assets for beneficiaries and typically avoids probate. Revocable Living Trusts let you manage assets during life and appoint a successor trustee after death.

What is a Kids Protection Plan®?

A Kids Protection Plan prepares for emergencies, naming short- and long-term guardians and ensuring contingency readiness beyond what a simple will provides.

Does asset protection work?

Yes, when done properly. Asset protection separates ownership from control to shield assets from certain creditors—it's not for evasion, and must follow state law.

What is a Special Needs Trust?

A Special Needs Trust lets a loved one benefit from assets while preserving eligibility for government benefits. Trust type is selected based on family circumstances.

Separating business and personal assets with an LLC is a common, effective liability-protection strategy—even for small business owners and side hustles.

Estate Planning FAQs | Clear Answers — Benjamin Teicher, PLLC Attorney at Law

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Frequently Asked Questions About Estate Planning

Your Last Will is a legal document through which you indicate how you want assets owned in your name to be distributed, at the time of your death. This is also the document in which you name a legal representative - sometimes called a personal representative or executor - to carry out the distribution of your assets, distribute any assets owned in your name, at the time of your death. At the time of your death, your Last Will is filed with the probate court, to administer your estate. If you want to avoid the court process, you can use various methods to keep your loved ones out of court, which we will share with you in a Life & Legacy Planning® Session.
You only need to work with an attorney if you want to ensure you do not leave a mess for the people you love. These days, there are many DIY estate planning options, or even options in which you can work with a financial advisor or CPA on your estate planning. However, the risk of doing so is that your family could be left with a set of well-meaning, yet insufficient documents that fail in the event of your incapacity or death, leaving them in court or conflict, even if you thought you had a simple situation.
We share frequently about celebrities and people with extreme wealth who make the error of trying to go it alone or not using the right kind of professional, so if you thought you could do your own estate planning or work with a non-legal professional on a will or a trust, it’s certainly not your fault. But, now that you are here, let us save your family from the nightmare of what can happen when you don’t truly understand the consequences of working with the wrong kind of professional, or trying to go it alone.
If you truly cannot afford to work with an attorney - and you’ve engaged in a full cost-benefit analysis, like the kind we support you to conduct during our Life & Legacy Planning Session by considering your unique family dynamics and assets, and the right plan for you at your budget - we do have a training on the steps to DIY your estate plan, which we would be happy to send you upon request of our office.
How much does a “will” or “trust” cost is the question we get asked most often, and that makes sense – we know the topic of the price of a will or trust, or estate planning as a whole, is a critical part of your shopping around for an estate plan process. That’s exactly why we have designed our fees on a “flat-fee, no surprises basis”, and why our Life & Legacy Planning process is specifically designed to help you choose the right fee for you and the people you love based on your unique circumstances.
While we cannot quote fees online or over the phone because we need to understand the specifics of your unique situation, our unique estate planning process - Life & Legacy Planning (or estate planning for busy people) - is designed to guide you to choose your own fee, based on your family dynamics, your unique assets and your desires. Yes, you read that right, you’ll choose your own fee, so you know you’re paying exactly what’s right for you.
Having said that, you may want to read our report on the 5 Ways a $1500 or Less Estate Plan Could Fail Your Family.
A Trust is an agreement between a Grantor (the person who puts assets in the trust) and a Trustee (the person or entity that holds title to those assets) to hold assets for the benefit of a Beneficiary (the person who will receive the benefit of the assets while they are held in the trust). When using a Trust to hold title to assets, those assets will not be subject to a court process in the event of the incapacity or death of the Grantor. With a standard “Revocable Living Trust” or “Living Trust”, you would be the Grantor, the Trustee AND the Beneficiary of the Trust during your lifetime, and then upon your incapacity or death, a Successor Trustee can seamlessly step in, take over, and ensure the assets you’ve put in the Trust are distributed to your named Beneficiaries (or continue to be held in trust for their benefit).
Trusts can also be irrevocable, for asset protection purposes, for estate tax purposes, or for other purposes, which are beyond the scope of this discussion. If you are considering an irrevocable trust, there are tax and other considerations that you must take into account, ideally with the guidance of a trusted lawyer who can counsel you through all of the decisions
No, and it’s really the exact opposite because if you are not rich, the cost of failed or non-existent estate planning could be extremely costly for the people you love. As an adult, you have an estate. And, if you do not plan for your estate in the event of your incapacity or death, you’re leaving the people you love with a big job to handle, and they may not have the time, experience or money to do it. Failed estate planning is part of what causes families to lose wealth from one generation to the next, instead of grow their generational wealth. If you want to create generational wealth for your future generations, plan now.
Your estate plan works no matter where in the U.S. you might physically be (such as on vacation) or might move to. This said, we always recommend finding your neighborhood Personal Family Lawyer® to review your out-of-state plan to help you ensure you make any necessary updates based on differences in state law.

Frequently Asked Questions About Kids Protection Planning

No, a Last Will is limited in how it can protect your children. First, a Last Will is effective only once you pass away and once the document is filed with and accepted by the probate court, but you may have a need long before the moment you pass away to have a guardian for your children. Second, appointing who would raise your children is one thing, while appointing short-term temporary guardians in case of a short-lived emergency is another thing. Your Kids Protection Plan® will leave no stone uncovered or contingency unplanned for. You name both short-term and long-term guardians and ensure that everyone you trust has exactly the information they need on-hand at any moment to care for your children.
In the world of kids protection planning, the best outcome for you and your children will be achieved only by working with a lawyer who encounters kids protection planning situations daily. You are here in this world to raise your children the best way you know how, but unfortunately, some families collapse after the death of a parent because they either did no planning at all, or if they did, it was through an online platform that knew nothing about the most comprehensive way to protect children. We encourage a lifelong relationship between you and your estate planning attorney so that you have a lawyer for life to be there for your children when you cannot be.
This is the most often asked question in estate planning, and that is okay – we know the topic of cost is a sensitive one when it comes to choosing a professional to guide you, and we have designed our fees on a flat-fee basis only so that you know exactly what you are committing to – and there are no surprises.
While we cannot quote fees online or over the phone because we need to understand the specifics of your unique situation, our unique estate planning process - Life & Legacy Planning® (or estate planning for busy people) - is designed to guide you to choose your own fee, based on your family dynamics, your unique assets and your desires. Yes, you read that right, you’ll choose your own fee, so you know you’re paying exactly what’s right for you.
Think of a Kids Protection Plan as one piece (a very important piece) of your overall estate plan, and an estate plan is not simply a Last Will, as many believe. For parents with minor children, you need both the traditional estate plan that every adult needs as well as a Kids Protection Plan that every parent of minor children needs.

Frequently Asked Questions About Asset Protection Planning

Only certain types of assets are appropriate for an asset protection trust. Once you identify what those are in your case, you can transfer those valuable assets into an asset protection trust to protect those assets from future and unknown creditors. This transfer will protect your assets while you are living and will also protect them from the IRS when you die.
This said, there are some disadvantages associated with transfers of valuable property into asset protection trusts, which include your likely or known exposure to creditors’ claims, your personal loss of control over how a particular asset is managed once transferred, and potential gift tax consequences that result from the transfer. What assets should be transferred into asset protection trusts depends on your specific situation, including your state of residence, the state where your business has been organized, where your physical office and registered agent are located, where your assets are located, and more.
Even then, certain assets are considered “exempt” (forever protected) from creditors, and each state determines what it considers exempt assets. In some states, exempt assets include clothing, jewelry, tools, and household furnishings, while in other states additional assets such as life insurance and social security benefits are exempt.
In the world of asset protection planning, the best outcome for you, your family, and your loved ones will be achieved only by working with a lawyer who encounters asset protection planning situations daily. You have worked your whole life for what you have, and we encourage you not to leave it to an online form, internet software, or DIY template to care for your family in the way they deserve.
This is the most often asked question in asset protection planning, and that is okay – we know the topic of cost is a sensitive one when it comes to choosing a professional to guide you, and we have designed our fees on a flat-fee basis only so that you know exactly what you are committing to – and there are no surprises.
While we cannot quote fees online or over the phone because we need to understand the specifics of your unique situation, our unique estate planning process - Life & Legacy Planning® (or estate planning for busy people) - is designed to guide you to choose your own fee, based on your family dynamics, your unique assets and your desires. Yes, you read that right, you’ll choose your own fee, so you know you’re paying exactly what’s right for you.
If you have a retirement plan, federal law does not allow creditors to reach that asset. This applies to profit sharing, pensions, and 401(k) plans. However, both traditional and Roth IRAs may not be protected depending on the situation. We work closely with you so that you know the exact situation in your case and can make the right decisions from an asset protection planning perspective.
Yes, asset protection planning works when done right. Asset protection is based on the foundational principles that virtually any and every asset you own can be seized from you by a creditor, and any asset you do not own cannot be seized from you by a creditor. In a nutshell, asset protection aims to remove you from the reality where your ownership of an asset is basically the same as your control over an asset. Instead, with asset protection planning, we help you legitimately remove yourself from legal ownership over an asset where you maintain control of your assets, which allows you to continue enjoying the economic benefits of your assets while protecting those from creditors. This said, we do not prepare plans where the goal is to evade a known or likely creditor, as at that point, this type of planning is too late.

Frequently Asked Questions About Special Needs Planning

There is no one variety of a “special needs trust,” and exactly which type of trust is right for you or your special needs child depends on your specific circumstances. Nevertheless, in practically all cases, special needs trusts are designed to be a vehicle by which you can transfer your assets to your child (really, for the benefit of your child) in a way that allows the child to enjoy your assets but also remain qualified for any important governmental benefits based on their special needs. Some of these vehicles are revocable, in the sense that you can revisit and revise the terms over time, and some of these vehicles are irrevocable, meaning you have limited or no ability over time to continue managing assets transferred into the trust or modifying the terms of the trust as things change over time.
In the world of special needs planning, the best outcome for you and your special needs will be achieved only by working with a lawyer who encounters special needs planning situations daily. You have worked your whole life for what you have and how you have designed your life to fully support your loving, lovable, special needs child. Unfortunately, some families collapse after the death of a loved one because they either did no planning at all, or if they did, it was through an online platform that knew nothing about their family or special needs circumstances, and that ultimately failed them when their special needs child needed help the most. We encourage a lifelong relationship between you and your estate planning attorney so that you have a lawyer for life to be there for your family – and your special needs child – when you cannot be.
This is the most often asked question in estate planning, and that is okay – we know the topic of cost is a sensitive one when it comes to choosing a professional to guide you, and we have designed our fees on a flat-fee basis only so that you know exactly what you are committing to – and there are no surprises.
While we cannot quote fees online or over the phone because we need to understand the specifics of your unique situation, our unique estate planning process - Life & Legacy Planning® (or estate planning for busy people) - is designed to guide you to choose your own fee, based on your family dynamics, your unique assets and your desires. Yes, you read that right, you’ll choose your own fee, so you know you’re paying exactly what’s right for you.
How much in governmental benefits any particular person qualifies for is person-specific and can change over time as laws change. There is no right answer that applies to all cases, and each special needs child is different. This means that every special needs trust is going to be different as well, and as a result, you should work with a qualified attorney (not fill-in-the-blank software or DIY templates) to ensure your special needs child is taken care of exactly how you want.
With all the planning that we do, we always encourage our clients to write a “letter of intent” in their own words to describe, in a single document, the important details that will enable the guardian to care for and raise your special needs child exactly how you would. A letter of intent would include your child’s medical and education history; their likes, dislikes, and habits; and aspirations concerning their future, including living arrangements, career, and lifestyle. The letter is meant to be a roadmap for the guardian and to minimize disruption during an emotional time of transition.

Frequently Asked Questions About Elder Law Planning

In short, very likely yes, you can own a fancy car even if you are on Medicaid. In certain states, you are permitted one automobile regardless of value, even if you are on Medicaid. This said, as with all governmental regulations, the rules are strict about how you use the vehicle, who has access to it, and more. Because regulations change over time and could drastically impact your personal situation, we always advise you to work directly with an attorney to ensure your long-term care and estate plan remains up-to-date and the most protective for your family possible.
Absolutely – elder law planning is broad-ranging and if done improperly, could have devastating effects on your tax liability, the exposure of your assets, and the decisions made on your behalf when you cannot communicate your decisions made for yourself. We would not recommend you go this alone because in the world of elder law planning, the best outcome for you, your family, and your loved ones will be achieved only by working with a lawyer who encounters elder law planning situations daily.
You have worked your whole life for what you have and the relationships you have created. Unfortunately, some families collapse after the death of a loved one because they either did no planning at all, or if they did, it was through an online platform that knew nothing about their family or circumstances and that ultimately failed them when their family needed help the most. We encourage a lifelong relationship between you and your elder law planning attorney so that you have a lawyer for life to be there for your family when you cannot be.
Every plan is different, and every plan is tailored to your specific circumstances. We know the topic of cost is a sensitive one when it comes to choosing a professional to guide you, and we have designed our fees on a flat-fee basis only so that you know exactly what you are committing to – and there are no surprises.
While we cannot quote fees online or over the phone because we need to understand the specifics of your unique situation, our unique estate planning process - Life & Legacy Planning® (or estate planning for busy people) - is designed to guide you to choose your own fee, based on your family dynamics, your unique assets and your desires. Yes, you read that right, you’ll choose your own fee, so you know you’re paying exactly what’s right for you.
A Medicaid trust is an irrevocable trust that you can set up to protect your assets from being seized by Medicaid even though you might receive Medicaid benefits. When a trust is “irrevocable,” that means you relinquish your ownership and control over those assets, although in some cases, when drafted properly, you can continue to receive the benefits of assets you move into an irrevocable trust. For example, if done right, you can move your home into a Medicaid trust and continue to live in your home. Nevertheless, you never want to hastily establish any type of irrevocable trust without knowing exactly why (and whether) you need it, how it works, what it means for assets moved into it, whether there are any pitfalls to be aware of, and how the assets ultimately pass to your heirs. We encourage you never to do this type of planning on your own.
Elder law is a specialty area of estate planning, so it is both included in proper estate planning, depending on your situation and age, and not a substitute for traditional estate planning. With elder law planning, your lawyer helps you plan for retiree benefits, healthcare and long-term care, Medicaid and Medicare coverage, and home care and nursing home care.
Ultimately, your elder law planning team of trust advisors includes your lawyer, financial planners, CPA, insurance agents, and other professionals depending on what is appropriate for your situation, and your elder law plan includes both traditional estate planning to avoid probate as well as advanced planning to help protect your estate and legacy as you age.
There really is no right or wrong age to start exploring how elder law planning can benefit you. This said, presume that by age 60 you should start the planning process. The longer you wait in life, the more you run the risk of your assets being exposed unexpectedly, going to the medical industry instead of your family. You may even encounter an unexpected health issue where you lose capacity immediately, meaning your family will start planning for you, if they are able. Each day is a gift, and we cannot predict the future but we can plan for it, so the sooner, the better.

Frequently Asked Questions About Business Planning

Yes, if you are the owner of a business of any size, you need at least some legal entity that is separate from you. This could include a limited liability company (LLC), limited liability partnership (LLP), or other professional legal entities specifically for lawyers, doctors, etc. No matter the situation or what kind of business you have, the first most important thing you can do to sleep better at night is to ensure you have established a separate legal entity for your business, otherwise your personal assets such as your home, your savings, or your nest egg are at risk of being wiped out if you find yourself in a personal lawsuit related to your business.
In the world of business planning – especially in the world of protecting your personal assets from business liability, the best outcome for you, your family, and your business will be achieved only by working with a lawyer who encounters business planning situations daily. You have worked your whole life for what you have and the business you have created. While financial advisors and CPAs play an important role in your planning, they cannot give you legal advice. Unfortunately, some businesses collapse after the death of the business owner because they either did no planning at all, or if they did, they left gaping holes where they needed professional advice. We encourage a lifelong relationship between you and your group of trust advisors (your financial professional, your CPA, and yes, your lawyer) so that you can rely on an advisory group for life to be there for your family and your business when you cannot be.
This is the most often asked question when it comes to our LIFTed Advisors® planning model, and that is okay – we know the topic of cost is a sensitive one when it comes to choosing a professional to guide you, and we have designed our fees on a flat-fee basis only so that you know exactly what you are committing to, leaving no surprises. While we cannot quote fees online or over the phone, we invite you to schedule a LIFT Business Breakthrough™ Session where we'll look at your unique business goals and ensure your LIFT - Legal, Financial, Tax, and Insurance, Financial, & Tax® foundations are in alignment with attaining those goals.
S-corp tax treatment is a popular election for many small business owners because of the potential tax savings. To be an S-corp, you have to first establish your business as a limited liability company (LLC) or corporation. The reason you do that step first is because to be an “S-corp” means simply that you are a business entity electing a certain tax treatment; an “S-corp” is not an entity type in and of itself. Once you have established your business as an LLC or corporation with your state, then you can complete the appropriate IRS form to elect S-corp tax treatment. Whether or not you should elect s-corp tax treatment depends on many factors, and before making any decision, we recommend you explore the question with your business lawyer, as there is not a cookie-cutter answer as to whether s-corp status is right for any particular business.
You need LIFTed Advisors® (or LIFT - Legal, Insurance, Financial, & Tax®) Planning for your side hustle if you want to make sure your side hustle doesn’t cost you more than it makes you. Side hustles can be risky from a tax perspective, from a time, energy, and attention perspective, and from a legal perspective, if you don’t have the right guidance to set up your side hustle and run it in the right way. On the flip side, your side hustle can provide all sorts of benefits if you set it up right. So, yes, we think you should want LIFT Planning for your side hustle, and get your LIFT - Legal, Insurance, Financial & and Tax foundations well set up for your life and legacy.
Yes! Any legitimate business expense is deductible, and legal, insurance, financial, and tax planning for your business are legitimate business expenses. We’ll issue an invoice to your business, and your bookkeeper can categorize it in professional fees or legal fees.