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TIME
Better Homes and Gardens
Working Mother
Daily Camera

Boulder Estate Planning Lawyers Serving Colorado

We are using videochat, phone calls, and remote signing to protect our clients as they proceed with their estate work. There’s never been a more urgent or convenient time to plan your estate. Click here for details about our process.

When you want a strong estate plan that demonstrates your love and thought in the event of your incapacity or after your death, Braverman Law Group, LLC is committed to providing personalized counseling, clear explanations of complex concepts, and powerful execution for clients throughout Colorado. With experienced attorneys quoted in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, Braverman Law Group, LLC’s Boulder estate planning lawyers create comprehensive and plain-language estate planning documents, including wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and healthcare powers of attorney, for individuals, couples, and families in the Boulder Valley along Colorado’s Front Range.

Call us at (303) 800-1588 for your free, no obligation consultation today!

What is an Estate Plan?

An estate plan is a plan for you and your assets (your “estate”) in the event that you become incapacitated or die. With an estate plan, our Boulder estate planning lawyers will help you decide ahead of time who will care for you if you become incapacitated and who will care for your property in that event. You can also decide who will get what assets of yours and under what terms after you die.

What Makes an Estate Plan a Good One?

You should feel confident that your estate plan is a good one if you chose the right trust attorney: an attorney who only practices estate planning and administration; your attorney listens carefully as you explained your family situation, your goals, and your concerns; and your attorney walks through the documents before you signed them, answering all of your questions and making any changes you decide on together.

There’s no substitute for experience so choose a Boulder estate planning lawyer who has been practicing in this area for many years. At Braverman Law Group, LLC, our partners have each exclusively practiced trusts & estates law for over twenty years.

You also need to feel comfortable with your attorney so that you can share private family matters and concerns fully. Your plan will only reflect what you share. Many clients have shared personal and family concerns without expecting them to influence the plan and were surprised and relieved to learn that there are steps we can take to address those concerns through the estate planning process.

The Documents at the Heart of Your Estate Plan

The Revocable Living Trust is the heart of most estate plans. We prefer trust-based planning because it provides for management in the event of your incapacity and avoids time-consuming, public, and expensive probate.

The Healthcare Power of Attorney is a critical document because it authorizes the person or people you choose and trust to make medical decisions for you in the event of your incapacity.

The Property Power of Attorney enables your trusted friend or family member to manage your non-trust assets and benefits like Medicare in the event that you are incapacitated.

Your Living Will provides instructions about your wishes for life-sustaining treatment in the event your situation is dire.

Estate Planning Documents That Make the Others Work

You also need a Certification of Trust: a two-page document that summarizes the facts about your trust for you to share with your bank. You’ll need to transfer your bank accounts into your trust by using your Certification of Trust.

You will still need a will even if you opt for trust-based planning. A will leaves everything to your trust to ensure that all of your property gets to the people you intend, even if it’s not in your trust and has to go through probate.

A HIPAA release ensures that your agent for Healthcare and other family members can get critical medical information about you in the event that you are unable to authorize sharing that information with them.

Finally, we provide you with a 24/7 membership card that gives you – and any hospital you’re taken to – instant access to your Healthcare Power of Attorney, your Living Will and your HIPAA Release.

These aren’t the only documents you need in your plan, but they are the most important ones. We review every document with our clients to ensure that they understand it, that it reflects their wishes, and that any modifications to better reflect their wishes are made.

Clients trust Braverman Law Group, LLC to protect their futures and their wealth from the dangers of incapacity, lawsuits, and probate. In addition to experience in estate planning, Braverman Law Group, LLC is also comprised of experienced Boulder county probate attorneys.

Risks of Not Planning

Without an estate plan, it will be up to the court system and whoever files a petition to decide who will care for you and your assets. Maybe it will be the person you want it to be. In that case, the downside of not planning is that handling your affairs through the probate court is expensive and time-consuming. But maybe the person who files a petition to take charge over your life will not be the one you would have chosen. In that case, without a written plan indicating that you have a different preference, the person who filed may be granted authority over your affairs.

Without an estate plan, after you are gone, your assets will be divided among your relatives according to whether you are married, how long you were married, whether you have children, with the rest going to your nearest legal relatives.

Special Needs Planning

Diedre Braverman, an author of the treatise, Special Needs Planning, published by the California Bar CEB, is an experienced practitioner at guiding parents and recipients through the maze of preserving eligibility for public benefits while protecting an inheritance or the proceeds of a lawsuit. If you or your client is expecting a personal injury settlement, call us right away so the settlement need not be delayed.

Elder Law

Diedre’s experience in government benefits law extends to elder law: the preservation of estate assets while qualifying an elder for needed nursing home benefits. In elder law, planning ahead saves money. In fact, for every month that you plan ahead, you could save over $8,000.

Contrary to popular perception, Medicare does not provide benefits for long-term care. Medicare’s nursing home benefits are limited to a few months of recovery immediately after a hospital stay for people who are expected to return home after this period of therapy.

Asset Protection

Braverman Law Group, LLC’s Boulder asset protection attorneys use strategies ranging from domestic Limited Liability Companies in asset-protection jurisdictions to irrevocable trusts for beneficiaries.

Estate Administration & Probate

When there is a death, Braverman Law Group, LLC’s Boulder County probate attorneys provide the highest level of compassionate care to the survivors as we guide the trustee and executor through the administration of the estate whether that includes probate or not.

Gun Trusts

These trusts, which insulate the owner of a gun from liability arising from unauthorized use of that gun, are coming soon.

Here to Help

When you are ready to take control of your own future and take charge of how your assets will affect your loved ones after you are gone, it’s time to plan your estate with Braverman Law Group, LLC. We invite you to call for your free consultation with one of our experienced Boulder county probate attorneys, who can help you with your estate planning and probate needs at (303) 800-1588 today!

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Dog-Friendly Office

We’re pet lovers! Our dog Toby comes to the office with us. You’re welcome to bring your dog to appointments.

Our Estate Planning Process

1
Free Consultation

Your journey begins with a complimentary consultation. During this session, you get to meet and familiarize yourself with the attorney and our firm. It’s a chance for us to understand your needs and lay down a foundational structure for your estate...

2
Design Meeting

This is where creativity merges with legal expertise. Collaborating closely with the same BLG attorney you met during the consultation, we’ll delve into the intricate details of your plan. It’s during this phase that your estate plan truly comes to...

3
New Document Review

It’s essential that every document aligns with your vision and needs. Your dedicated attorney will walk you through each document, page by page, tailoring the discussion to your comfort level. This stage often sparks further refinements, ensuring...

4
Signing Meeting

Once all modifications are integrated, it’s time to make it official. During the signing meeting, we ensure that every document is accurately notarized, and a scanned set is safely stored in our system. Should you wish, we can provide you with these...

5
Funding Meeting

Upon concluding the signing process, we present you with a binder containing all your original, signed, and notarized documents. Our attorney will meticulously review each of your assets with you, guiding you on seamlessly integrating them into your...

6
Follow-up

Life is an ever-evolving journey. We recommend reconnecting every three to five years to assess any shifts in your personal circumstances, family dynamics, aspirations, or assets. This catch-up session is on us. Should we identify areas of...

Client Reviews

When my husband died, I felt I needed to honor him for his children and friends. Working through the plans was healthy because I've been a planner professionally. My...

Barbara Joan Martin Colorado

I really appreciate your calming nature. You are incredibly helpful and kind. After speaking with me it was the first time in a long while where I was able to sleep...

Trudy Moore Colorado

I trust Bennett and feel his depth of knowledge. The time and energy Bennett spent briefing the beneficiaries of our plan – helping them to know what to expect and what...

Anonymous Colorado

Diedre took the time to go beyond our initial assumptions and explained how we can benefit from strategies no one had explained to us before.

Kathy Colorado

Bennett Braverman is a thorough, knowledgeable expert in his field. He did an excellent job in walking us through the Living Trust process, coaching us through decisions...

Lisa Colorado

Boulder Estate Planning Legal Blog

Wishes Regarding Dementia Care in a Colorado Advance Directive Receiving a dementia diagnosis can be incredibly disheartening. At Braverman Law Group, we understand how frustrating it feels to receive...

New Study’s Implications for Brain-Damaged Patients and Their Corresponding Estate Plans Are medically unresponsive patients truly unresponsive? A recent article published by the New York Times reviews a study that examined this very...

Is It Time to Review My Business’s Ownership Agreement? In June 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued an important decision in a case called Connelly v. United States. The decision has huge...

Address

Located in downtown Boulder, across from the Justice Center. Take Canyon Boulevard to 6th Street. Our building is right on the corner of 6th and Canyon, with exposed red brick on the front. We offer onsite underground parking just to the right after you turn onto 6th. An elevator takes you to our open and light offices on the second floor.

507 Canyon Blvd #203

Boulder, CO 80302

Phone: (303) 800-1588 Fax: (303) 479-8408
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