Practical, Economical Estate Planning Lawyer

Estate Planning is about having the right legal documents in place to prepare for the possibility of mental incapacity, or death.  The essential documents for execution of the estate plan include deeds, the last will and testament,  financial power of attorney, medical power of attorney,  and sometimes trusts.  

Your estate planning at Stutheit & Gartland will begin with a meeting with attorney Brian Stutheit.  We will discuss your assets, liabilities, desires if you become ill, and concerns about family.  Brian Stutheit will recommend what you need, and prepare drafts of documents for you to read.  You will have a full, unrushed opportunity to ask questions and make changes before final documents are prepared and signed.  

Who Needs Estate Planning?

The following comes from a column by David McPherson for ABC News:

Imagine you’re a young adult, unmarried but living with your partner in a home the two of you bought together. Two months before the wedding, you’re critically injured in an automobile accident and later die.

Whom do the doctors update about your condition? Who decides the critical questions about your care? And what happens to the house you bought with the person you expected to share a long life with?

These are all reasons why just about every adult, no matter their age or family status, needs basic estate-planning documents that dictate their wishes if they die or become incapacitated.

The passage of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act in 1996 set tight restrictions on the release of medical information by health care providers to anyone, including family members, if you’re an adult. That’s why it’s imperative to have an authorization form that outlines whom you will allow a health care provider to share your private medical information with.

Typical Prices

  • Advance Health Care Directive or Living Will: $325
  • Beneficiary Deed to avoid probate and retain ownership, responsibility, and control over your Colorado property while you’re alive.  In the event of your death, ownership will automatically transfer without probate to the beneficiary you name: $600 plus recording fee.  Caution:  If you may need Medicaid in the future, you should consult with a Medicaid planning attorney before you do anything to change title to your property.  
  • Prenuptial or Postnuptial agreement: $2,100. Important for adults in second marriages who want to protect children from their prior marriage.
  • Powers of Attorney for health care decision-making and for finances: $475 total for an individual and $650 for a couple.
  • Most Wills (including will with guardianship and trust provisions for children): $1,200 individual; $1,600 per couple
  • Temporary Guardianship for Children while parents are absent: $325

TIP: Under the “reformation rule” adopted by the Colorado General Assembly, a court may reform or rewrite the terms of a will, trust, or even a life insurance policy, if it can be proven by clear and convincing evidence that the document does not accurately reflect the author’s intent. C.R.S. sec. 15-11-806.