(304) 523-2100 Huntington, WV

Wills, Trusts & Estates
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The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation. We invite you to contact us and welcome your calls, letters and electronic mail. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not send any confidential information to us until such time as an attorney-client relationship has been established.

Jenkins Fenstermaker, PLLC

325 Eighth Street

Huntington, WV 25701-2225

Phone (304) 523-2100

Toll Free (866) 617-4736

Estate Planning

Tristate Estate Planning Attorney

A Tristate Estate Planning Attorney Offers Sounds Strategies

Quality estate planning services for residents of West Virginia (WV), Kentucky (KY), and Ohio (OH) can ease your worries about all the “what ifs” that keep you awake at night. A tristate estate planning attorney can customize estate planning strategies for minimizing estate taxes, avoiding catastrophe in the case of disability, protecting your loved ones from your incapacity and death, and making important decisions regarding your medical care and the care of minor children. No matter what your family and asset situations are, quality estate planning services can provide peace of mind.

Get Estate Planning in WV, KY, and OH Tailored to Your Needs

Your family and life circumstances may seem unique, but estate planning tools exist for nearly everyone. Do you need to plan for an adult child with a disability or drug addiction? Protect your estate plan from expensive litigation by a disgruntled relative? Pass your business on to a faithful employee? No matter how difficult your question may seem, get answers and solutions that can serve your needs now and distribute your assets in accordance with your wishes later. 

Living trusts are a popular tool that allows you to continue to invest and control your wealth while ensuring a smooth transition. They also allow you to control the timing and amount of distributions and how those distributions may be used, even after your death.

Trusts can also be used for business succession planning. Business transfers require expert advice and planning to keep the business assets separate from personal assets, minimize taxes, and provide for smooth transition. One option planners suggest is an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) to allow a partner or co-owners to buy out your share of the business upon your death.

But an ILIT is not appropriate in every situation, and trusts are generally not do-it-yourself tools. Estate planning requires industry-specific experience and knowledge to be done properly.

Quality Estate Planning Services for Avoiding Estate Taxes and Family Squabbles

For the time being, the level of the estate tax exclusion means most of us need not worry about estate taxes. For 2019, the basic estate tax exclusion amount (BEA) is $11.4 million. Under the tax reform law, the increase is only temporary. Thus, in 2026, the BEA will revert to its pre-2018 level of $5 million barring further legislative action. But, for wealthy clients, especially business owners, estate taxes are still an issue and careful planning.

Inter vivos or lifetime giving can minimize or avoid estate taxes altogether. But the amount you can gift annually without taxation is also limited by the federal gift tax, making inter vivos giving only a partial solution.

Both inter vivos and testate giving can cause discord within the family. One option is address the possibility in your will. Including an in terrorem clause in your will might prevent an unhappy family member challenging your will and tying up your assets in litigation to the detriment of other beneficiaries. Such a clause, if enforceable in your state and situation, may inhibit a beneficiary from challenging the will by providing a bequest that is forfeited in the event he or she loses the challenge.

Estate Planning with Annual Follow-Up by a Recommended Estate Planning Attorney

Even once you have made decisions about insurance, guardians, trusts, wills, powers of attorney, and health care directives, your needs or wishes may change. At Jenkins Fenstermaker PLLC, your estate planning includes an annual follow-up visit to assess changes in your family, your business, and your life and update your plan accordingly

Establish your comprehensive estate and life plan with a respected tristate estate planning attorney licensed in WV, KY, and OH. Contact Jenkins Fenstermaker PLLC, with offices in Huntington and Clarksburg, by calling (304) 523-2100 locally or (866) 617-4736 toll-free or by using the website contact form.