Bettendorf Estate Planning Attorneys

Helping Iowans Plan for Their Futures

It can be easy to become overwhelmed as you begin to plan for your and your loved ones’ futures. What tools do you need to effectively protect yourself and your children? Does estate planning allow you to avoid taxes? Is there any means of simplifying the process or avoiding a situation where inheritances get tied up in probate?

Things get even trickier as you get older and realize you may need some form of long-term care. You have likely spent many years building up a lucrative nest egg, some of which you hoped to pass on to your children and other loved ones. Because nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other forms of elder care are so incredibly expensive, you might fear that your medical needs could undo a lifetime of saving and planning.

Our Bettendorf estate planning lawyers at Pearson Bollman Law can help you address these types of scenarios and provide robust protection to you and your family. Our estate planning services have successfully provided comfort and security to thousands of Iowa clients, and we are ready to leverage our services to give you the peace of mind that you deserve. We will assess every facet of your situation before advising what legal tools are available to you and which may be most effective in accomplishing your goals.

Get started on your estate planning by calling (515) 298-8850 or contacting us online.

Our Legal Service Areas

In addition to estate planning and elder law, we offer a full suite of litigation services. We offer all of our legal services at fixed, affordable fees. We will always help you understand exactly what you are getting and will never surprise you with hidden costs. Our team is also prepared to serve you at any of our 5 office locations throughout the state of Iowa.

Our Bettendorf estate planning attorneys can assist you in the following areas:

• Estate Planning. Everyone needs a plan for what will happen after they pass away. You will need to decide who will care for your children, who will inherit your assets, and who will manage the distribution process. Even if you are young and healthy, an estate plan can help prepare for situations where you are seriously injured. If you are unable to communicate, you will need to have representatives able to manage your medical and financial needs on your behalf. Our team can help you build an effective estate plan that will protect you, your property, and your loved ones. We can assist with many types of documents, including wills, trusts, advanced healthcare directives, powers of attorney, guardianships, and conservatorships.
• Trust Administration. Many choose to manage their own trusts, which can allow the grantor increased flexibility, control, and tax efficiency over assets named in a will that will eventually be subject to probate. Once you are unable to communicate or pass away, you will need a successor trustee to manage the trust under terms that you define. Successor trustees will be responsible for notifying beneficiaries and distributing their assets, conducting routine maintenance and administration, making investments, and handling any other day-to-day affairs of the trust. Our lawyers can serve as your successor trustee and ably manage its responsibilities.
• Probate. Probate can be an especially stressful process in a moment where you are already mourning the loss of a loved one. If you are named executor or administrator to the loved one’s estate, you will be obligated to shoulder tremendous responsibilities in managing the probate process. This will include filing the appropriate paperwork with the probate court, notifying beneficiaries and creditors, inventorying and appraising assets, liquidating assets and settling debts, and appropriately distributing assets. It can be a lot to take on, and if you have never served as a personal representative before, the process can be overwhelming. Our team can ease your burden and can assist you in your capacity as personal representative through each step of probate.
• Estate Disputes. Conflicts involving a loved one’s estate can be especially delicate tense, as they generally involve a family member’s assets, health and safety, or both. We can help you navigate and, if necessary, litigate a variety of common estate disputes, including those involving will authenticity, trust management, breaches of fiduciary duty, elder abuse, and conservatorships and guardianships.
• Medicaid Planning and Elder Support. As you begin to anticipate the need for long-term care, you may be surprised at how expensive nursing homes and assisted living facilities have become. Though you may be able to draw upon your savings and retirement to cover these expenses, doing so potentially deprives your children and other loved ones of planned inheritances. We can help you avoid these tough choices through proactive elder care planning. This can include leveraging and protecting Medicaid benefits that cover many types of long-term care costs.