Protect your loved ones and your legacy by planning ahead for unexpected challenges.
Your estate plan is a guidebook of directions and legal requirements for your loved ones to follow in the event of a death or unexpected tragedy. The level of detail within an estate plan often varies from person to person; however, there are several important categories to consider including, such as: Wills and Guardianship, Revocable Living Trust, Advanced Directive/Living Will, Durable Power of Attorney, Healthcare Power of Attorney, and plans for final disposition.
It is not uncommon to start with a basic estate plan and add to it as you acquire new assets and maybe even new family members. For specific unique circumstances, we can also look at adding special needs trusts and gun trusts to your plan. Our attorneys can help you find a starting point that makes sense for you.
You need an estate plan even if you don’t have any significant assets. One of the most common misconceptions we see when discussing estate plans with our clients is the belief that your assets are too insignificant to justify having a will or trust. Having an estate plan in place means you are making a concerted effort to make things as smooth as possible if something were to happen to you. The plan will act as your voice in the event you are unable to direct your family regarding your affairs.
We can’t stress enough the importance of having an estate plan in place. Without one, everything you leave behind, whether that is your children, your pets, your home, or otherwise will be dispersed and dismissed as quickly as possible according to state law, which doesn’t always mesh with your personal wishes.
We want to make the estate planning process as simple as possible for our clients. When you work with our
attorneys you can expect your estate plan to be completed in three simple steps.
We will send you a client data sheet to fill out and send back to us. In this form we ask for general information about you, your family, your finances, and your preferences. Once your datasheet is complete, we review your information and if additional details or information is needed, we will set up a time to speak with you over the phone or in person.
We draft your documents and send you a summary to review for accuracy. This is your time to make sure we have done our jobs thoroughly and have accounted for everything you want to include. This is also an opportunity for you to ask questions, make adjustments, and/or add any details that may have initially been overlooked.
We schedule a time for you to come into our office to sign your documents. This is our opportunity to explain what each document means and to answer any questions you may have. You will leave our office with your estate plan in hand, which we recommend storing in a fireproof safe or safety deposit box and letting your family know how to access it.
“Candice Shepard was great to work with for my Estate Planning and Will. She answered all of the questions I had and gave me great direction on how I should handle certain situations. After the initial consultation, my estate plan, powers of attorney, and will were completed within a week. I was given a very organized binder with all of the information I needed. Such an easy, smooth and efficient process!”
“I delayed getting all this trust stuff done for years because I thought I would be so overwhelmed, but Ms. Shepard made this process so easy. She worked around my schedule and my location so that I didn’t have to travel. I could not be more happy to finally have this all done and sleep easy at night. I would not hesitate to go back to her for any changes or assistance with any other legal matters.”
8520 Cliff Cameron Drive, Suite 190
Charlotte, NC 28269
Phone: 704-769-3100
Fax: 704-954-8668
General Inquiries: info@shepardlawpllc.com
New Contracts: closings@shepardlawpllc.com