DISCLAIMER: The results are specific to the facts and legal circumstances of each of the clients' cases and should not be used to form an expectation that the same results could be obtained for other clients in similar matters without reference to the specific factual and legal circumstances of each client's case.

Our estate planning client Bill in the arctic

Looking out on the frozen Antarctic peninsula, Bill was struck by what he witnessed.

The world is changing in large and small ways, he thought. That included his own family, but he had planned for that.

Planning for a Changing World

Bill recently retired as a physician. That’s when he began searching for an estate planning attorney. Like any loving parent, he wanted to provide for his family. He had heard of DeLoach, Hofstra & Cavonis, P.A., did research online, and then scheduled to meet with attorney Rep DeLoach.

“The oddest thing happened,” he exclaimed to Rep when he first arrived, “The receptionist was one of my former patients. So when I walked in, it was just like a homecoming! She is an absolute joy to be around.”

He was referring to our beloved receptionist, Emiline.

“When I first started, I didn’t think about how individualized the estate plan could be,” recalled Bill. “But once Rep and I got to talking about my family, my family’s situation and the way my wife and I wanted to leave things, it became obvious to me that an estate plan is something really personal."

“It requires working with somebody who will make the effort to learn about a person’s family and get the right fit for it,” explained Bill. “Of course, families change and when I first created my estate plan, I had one granddaughter and now I have three. So every time my heirs change, I get in touch with Rep. It’s good to have that relationship with him. It’s very comfortable.”

Based on Bill’s personal, financial and family goals, Rep created an individualized plan for Bill that included an IRA Trust for his grandchildren. Tax-free growth in your IRA can be a tremendous way to grow money for you, your children and your grandchildren. As an example, an IRA worth $100,000 going to a 10-year old grandchild can distribute over $1.3 million over that grandchild’s lifetime.

As part of the individualized planning process, Rep learns about the passions of his clients. One of Bill’s passions is traveling. His latest adventure to Antarctica left him encouraging friends to visit sooner, rather than later. He expressed the same urgency about estate planning.

“I think people tend to put off retirement planning but my advice is to do it early. You never know when you’re gonna need it,” Bill explained. “And it’s a living document, not something you do once and tuck away. We all change every day. So as time goes on, you have to go back and review it and make sure it continues to fit your needs. I’ve enjoyed doing that.”

Congratulations to Bill and his growing family (and thanks for taking your koozie to Antarctica for a truly cool photograph!). If you would like to update your estate plan to reflect your current wishes and relationships with your beneficiaries, please reach out to us. We are here to help