Estate planning allows you to decide who will manage your affairs if you become incapacitated, who will receive your property, and how your family will be supported after your death. A Madison estate planning attorney can help you put those decisions into legally valid documents that work together.
Nennig Law Offices, LLC represents individuals and families in Madison, Wisconsin, and surrounding communities. Whether you need your first estate plan or want to update older documents, we will explain your options and create a plan based on your relationships, property, and priorities.
Why Choose Nennig Law Offices, LLC for Estate Planning in Madison?
Estate planning involves personal decisions. You deserve an attorney who listens before recommending documents or strategies. Clients turn to our firm because we offer:
- Customized plans based on each client’s family and goals
- Guidance informed by attorney Bob Nennig’s background in law and accounting
- Assistance with wills, trusts, powers of attorney, health care directives, and special needs planning
- Probate and trust administration services when a loved one’s plan must be carried out
- Upfront information about legal fees before work begins
- Flexible scheduling, with home, hospital, assisted-care, and nursing-home consultations available when necessary
We explain what each document does, why it belongs in your plan, and what steps may be required after signing.
What Should Your Estate Plan Include?
A basic estate plan may include a will, financial power of attorney, health care power of attorney, and living will. Depending on your circumstances, you may also benefit from a revocable living trust, special needs trust, marital property planning, or additional tax planning.
Your documents must also work with beneficiary designations and property ownership. Retirement accounts, life insurance, jointly owned property, and payable-on-death accounts may transfer outside your will. We review these arrangements to help prevent conflicting instructions or unintended results.
Who Will Make Decisions if You Become Incapacitated?
Your spouse or adult children do not automatically receive authority to manage all your finances or make medical decisions for you. Without the proper documents, your family may need to ask a Wisconsin court to appoint someone to act on your behalf.
A financial power of attorney can authorize a trusted person to handle banking, bills, investments, real estate, taxes, and other financial matters according to the document’s terms. A health care power of attorney names someone to make medical decisions if you are found unable to make them yourself. A living will records your preferences concerning certain end-of-life care.
Can Estate Planning Help Your Family Avoid Probate?
Some property may pass through probate in Dane County after your death, but not every asset must do so. Property owned with survivorship rights, accounts with valid beneficiary designations, and assets held in a properly funded trust may transfer outside formal probate.
A revocable living trust can provide instructions for managing property during incapacity and distributing it after death. Creating a trust alone is not enough. Assets generally must be transferred to the trust or otherwise coordinated with it.
We can review how your property is titled and explain which transfer methods support your goals. Reducing probate may provide greater privacy and simplify administration, but it is only one part of a complete estate plan.
How Can an Estate Plan Protect Minor Children?
Parents can use a will to nominate a guardian for their minor children. Although the court makes the final appointment, your nomination tells the judge whom you trust to provide care.
You can also create a trust that controls how and when your children receive an inheritance. The person managing the money does not have to be the same person raising the children. Separating those responsibilities may provide additional oversight and allow each person to take on the role that best fits their abilities.
Do You Need Tax or Charitable Planning?
Wisconsin does not currently impose a state estate or inheritance tax, but federal estate tax and other tax issues may affect some families. Business interests, retirement accounts, substantial assets, and property in other states may create additional considerations.
Your plan can also provide gifts to charities during your lifetime or after your death. We can coordinate with your financial and tax advisers when your goals call for more advanced planning.
Start Your Estate Plan in Madison
Your estate plan should provide practical instructions for incapacity and death while allowing for changes in your life. Nennig Law Offices, LLC will help you create or update a plan that reflects what matters to you.
Contact our office to request a complimentary consultation with a Madison estate planning attorney.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I recently moved to Wisconsin from another state?
Estate planning laws differ among states. We can review documents prepared elsewhere and determine whether their provisions, decision-making powers, and execution requirements are consistent with Wisconsin law.
Do unmarried couples need different estate planning?
Often, yes. Wisconsin’s default inheritance laws may not provide for an unmarried partner or chosen family member. Wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and beneficiary designations can document the rights and authority you want them to have.
Can my estate plan address digital property?
Yes. Your plan can authorize someone to manage digital accounts, electronic records, online communications, and certain digital assets, subject to applicable law and the provider’s policies.