Practice Areas
Legal Practice Areas
Asset Protection
The costs associated with aging are high and steadily increasing as the U.S. population continues to grow and age. Sadly, most seniors are unprepared for the significant financial burdens that aging places on hard-earned savings. Complex rules and regulations govern what individuals can do to preserve assets under a variety of circumstances. On top of that, a wealth of information available through the Internet and word-of-mouth can make it difficult to figure out what to do or how to begin. Pevler Law
explains which rules apply to a client’s circumstances, outlines the options available to the client within the given regulatory environment as well as the benefits and risks associated with each option, and assists in choosing the course of action best suited to meet each client’s needs and goals.
Guardianship and/or Conservatorship
For some members of our society, legal protection
may be necessary even as adults. These individuals may suffer from a debilitating injury, incapacitating physical/mental illness or psychological disorder, or be unable to care for themselves or make sound decisions about their own person or property for some other reason. In these cases, a Guardianship may be established. A Guardianship is a legal arrangement in which the Court places an individual, called the “protected person”, under the supervision and care of another person, who is called the “Guardian”. A Conservatorship is a legal arrangement in which the Court places a protected person’s estate or property under the supervision and care of another person, who is called the “Conservator”. In West Virginia, a formal hearing is required to establish a Guardianship and/or Conservatorship. Courts will typically appoint a family member, friend, or government agency as the Guardian or Conservator of a protected person. Pevler Law assists clients in all stages of Guardianship and Conservatorship: drafting and filing the petition, preparing for and advocating at the hearing, and finalizing the acceptance of the appointment.
Estate Probate
Probate is a court-managed process through which the estate of a deceased person, called the “decedent”, is passed to his or her heirs. When a person dies with a Will, the person nominated and appointed to administer the Probate Estate is called the Executor. When a person dies without a Will or the Executor of the Estate cannot serve in that role, an Administrator will be appointed to administer the Probate Estate. The Probate Estate can be loosely described as the things the decedent owned at the time of his or her death. Certain non-probate property is excluded from the Probate Estate, such as property owned jointly with rights of survivorship (joint bank accounts) or property with named beneficiaries (life insurance, retirement accounts, or bank accounts with a “payable on death” designation). The duties of an Executor or Administrator include notifying the heirs or beneficiaries of the Estate that an Estate has been opened, completing an Appraisement of the Estate and Non-Probate Inventory Forms, payment of Estate debts, selling Estate assets (if applicable), paying of Estate taxes (if applicable), distributing assets to beneficiaries or heirs of the Estate, and submitting the final settlement of the Estate. Pevler Law has experience guiding clients through the probate process to ensure the final wishes of our clients’ loved ones are carried out effectively.
Trusts
A “Trust” is a fiduciary relationship formed with respect to property in which one person, the “Trustee”, holds legal title to property for the benefit of another person, the “Beneficiary”, who holds equitable title. A Trust can be created for a variety of reasons, including the privacy of the Trust’s creator, to protect a beneficiary from his or her own poor financial decision-making, as part of a Will or for other Estate Planning purposes, to provide for a Beneficiary for a period of time or for his or her whole life, to provide for one Beneficiary and then pass any remaining assets to a second person or to a charity, for asset protection, or for tax planning purposes. A Trust can be created during a person’s life (called an inter vivos trust) or by Will (called a testamentary trust) and can be made either revocable or irrevocable, which simply means it can or cannot easily be undone once it is created. Many factors must be considered in deciding whether a Trust will fit well within a client’s overall estate plan, and if so, what type of Trust to use. Pevler Law engages the client in robust dialogue to elicit the information needed to determine the most appropriate implementation of a Trust to achieve the outcome he or she desires.
Special Needs Planning
A person with special needs who receives money or other assets in excess of allowable limits may become disqualified for essential governmental benefits. This is often the case when a person with special needs inherits money from a loved one or receives money from a lawsuit. Many people believe that providing money to a person with special needs will only create a burden on the recipient by requiring them to spend down all of the assets in order to reapply for his or her benefits. Yet, he benefits a person with special needs may receive have limitations and generally only cover bare necessities, such as food, shelter, clothing, or medical expenses. Fortunately, a person with special needs is permitted to benefit from assets held in a “Special Needs Trust” while still qualifying for certain government benefits. Through the use of a Special Needs Trust, Pevler Law can assist you in improving your loved one’s quality of life without risking the loss of his or her necessary income or medical coverage.
Wills
A Will is a document that sets forth a person’s desires, for the distribution of property and care of minor children, following his or her death. When a person dies without a Will, the law has specific rules governing who the heirs of the Estate are, as well as how property is to be distributed to the heirs. These default rules do not always produce the results a person would have intended for his or her surviving family or friends. By drafting a Will that reflects his or her wishes, a person gains peace of mind knowing that when he or she is gone, the assets that were so hard to earn, accumulate, and preserve during their lifetime will benefit the people he or she chooses in the desired amounts or proportions. Pevler Law offers free Will consultations.
Power of Attorney
A Power of Attorney is a document by which a person, the “principal”, appoints another person, the “agent”, to act on the principal’s behalf. In selecting an agent, the principal must be certain to choose a person he or she trusts will keep the principal’s best interests in mind, respect his or her wishes, and will not abuse the powers granted. The agent’s authority to act on behalf of the principal may be general (broad) or special (limited), may end or continue (durable) beyond the principal’s mental capacity, or in some cases may not take effect until after the occurrence of some event (springing). A Durable Power of Attorney is one of the most important legal documents for a senior citizen to have because it grants the agent authority to handle the affairs of the senior in the event he or she becomes housebound or hospitalized, becomes otherwise physically limited, or suffers from diminished mental capacity. Pevler Law assists clients in selecting appropriate provisions to ensure the agent has the authority to deal with a variety of potential circumstances inherent to aging.
Real Estate Law
Pevler Law handles real estate legal matters including conveyances, bank closings, and trusts. Conveyance is an act of transferring ownership interest in a home or property from one party to another, such as a parent giving real estate to an adult child.