services

  • Will / REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST

    A Will and a Revocable Living Trust allow you to make a clear plan for what will happen to your assets, the items you own, when you pass away. Trusts enable you to by-pass the formal court proceeding, probate. Your Will allows you to name guardians who will care for your minor children, when you pass away.

  • Durable Power of Attorney

    A Durable Power of Attorney allows you to appoint a person(s) as your designated agent to act on your behalf regarding your financial, legal, and business affairs.

  • Health Care Power of Attorney

    A Health Care Power of Attorney allows you to appoint a person(s) to make medical decisions on your behalf when you are unable to do so yourself.

  • Real Estate Deed Updates

    Real estate deeds can be updated in order to transfer ownership or add or remove someone from title.

ESTATE PLANNING

estate planning is making a plan for who will receive your assets when you pass away; Who will care for your minor children if the unimaginable happens; who will carry out your wishes regarding your health care decisions; and choosing a trusted person(s) to make legal, financial, and business decisions on your behalf. Your estate plan will create peace of mind knowing that your wishes are clearly reflected and will be carried out once you pass away or become incapacitated. 

The three essential documents everyone should have: (1) Will; (2) Durable Power of Attorney; and (3) Health Care Power of Attorney 

  • Will: A Will allows you to make a clear plan for what will happen to your assets, the items you own, when you pass away. If you have children under 18 years old, a Will is where you appoint a guardian for them and you can create a testamentary trust within your will to establish Trust for their health, welfare, and education. You must be of sound mind and at least 18 years old to create a Will.  

  • Durable Power of Attorney: A Durable Power of Attorney allows you to appoint a person(s) as your designated agent to act on your behalf regarding your financial, legal, and business affairs.  This agent can handle your assets and property including selling and acquiring assets, accessing bank accounts, and paying bills.  Because of the extent of these powers, you will want to be sure that the person you designate to be your agent always has your best interest in mind when acting under the Power of Attorney.  This document comes into play while you are living. This document must be recorded with the county court where you reside to be legally valid in South Carolina.

  • Health Care Power of Attorney: A Health Care Power of Attorney allows you to appoint a person(s) to make medical decisions on your behalf when you are unable to do so yourself.  This can occur if you are in a state of permanent unconsciousness or in a coma.

  • Revocable Living Trust: A revocable living trust is a legal document where you can designate who will receive money and property (your assets) once you pass away and the main benefit is these assets can avoid going through the probate court system. You must fund or transfer property into your revocable living trust for it to be effective. There are three roles under a revocable living trust: 1) settlor, who is the person(s) who creates the trust; 2) trustee, who is the person(s) who makes decisions about the assets in the trust and has legal authority to spend and invest the assets for the benefit of the settlor and any other beneficiaries - typically during the life of the settlor, the settlor is also the trustee; and 3) beneficiaries, who are the individuals who receive assets from the revocable living trust - the person who creates the revocable living trust may be the only beneficiary while they are alive, but after they pass, they can leave their assets to the residuary beneficiaries. A will is still required to work in tandem with your revocable living trust as you can dispose of any assets you did not transfer to the trust during your lifetime, as well as for designating an executor/personal representative and a guardian for any minor children.

Real Estate DEEDS

if you own real estate in south carolina and wish to update or transfer ownership of the property for estate planning purposes or other reasons, we can do that for you. you may wish to transfer your property to another individual, your business, or your trust. you may need to remove someone from your deed. You may need a specific type of deed described below:

  • Joint tenants with rights of survivorship (JTROS) deed: You may co-own real property and wish to co-own as joint tenants with rights of survivorship so if one owner passes away prior to the other, the deceased’s share of the property will automatically vest in the surviving owner and avoid probate.

  • Life estate deed: You may be interested in a life estate deed where a property owner can reserve a life estate and grant a remainder interest giving the remainderman possession when the owner dies—allowing the property to bypass probate. South Carolina does not recognize transfer-on-death (TOD) deeds which serve a purpose similar to life estate deeds.

  • Deed of Distribution: You may have inherited a piece of property when a loved one passed away. The executor or personal representative of a deceased owner’s estate uses a deed of distribution to formally convey title to the deceased owner’s heir or a devisee named in the owner’s will. Personal representatives issue deeds of distribution in connection with the formal, court-supervised probate administration process.

  • Quitclaim Deed: A quitclaim deed releases a person’s interest in a property without stating the nature of the person’s interest or rights, and with no warranties of that person’s interest or rights in the property. Sometimes, quitclaim deeds are referred to as a “quick” claim deed due to their frequent use to quickly resolve disputes in title or change title between family members, such as in the following scenarios: (1) a property owner gets married and wants to add a spouse to title; (2) when property owners divorce and one spouse wishes to be removed from title; (3) grandparents want to gift property to their grandchildren; (4) property is being put into a family trust or business/LLC.

Asset Protection

In the legal world, words can make a huge impact without you realizing it. How you have certain assets titled can completely change their ownership meaning even by the simple words “and” / “or.” When you are planning your estate, be sure to go over how any property you own is titled and how and who you have listed on any bank, retirement, and insurance accounts. These are items we will go over with you to ensure your estate planning is complete.