Serving Clients throughout Iowa Pearson Bollman Law Helping You Plan For Everything You Own and Everyone You Love

Des Moines Estate Planning Attorneys

Giving You the Tools To Make Informed Decisions. Also Serving Clients in Bettendorf, Dubuque, Cedar Rapids and Okoboji

Many people believe they don’t need estate planning such as wills and trusts because they think they don’t have an estate. They may also think the value of their estate is not great enough to cause estate taxation, so what’s the point?

With very few exceptions, everyone has an estate. Whether you’re talking about the young child with a custodial account in his name or the granddaughter who received a lovely piece of jewelry for her 16th birthday, these both have an estate.

Clients come to our firm when they need assistance planning for themselves and their loved ones’ futures. We have assisted thousands of Iowa clients in protecting what they own and who they love and can leverage our many years of experience to help you make choices that will support your goals.

Our estate planning lawyers in Des Moines at Pearson Bollman Law offer legal assistance for a wide range of estate and elder law issues, including trust administration, probate, and Medicaid planning. We are committed to helping you understand your legal options and explore every potential solution. When you meet with our team for your initial consultation, we will thoroughly review the facts of your situation. We will identify how we can help and build a strategy to address your concerns and accomplish your objectives.

With our legal assistance, you will be in good hands. We can work together to give you the confidence and peace of mind that you deserve.

What Is an Estate Plan?

The bottom line is if you own something of value that you would like to pass on to someone else upon your death, you have an estate. Whether you know it or not, you also have an estate plan. The state has one for you free of charge (that you may not like) if you do not write your own will.

Broadly speaking, an estate plan (either a will-based estate plan or a trust-based estate plan) encompasses the accumulation, conservation, and distribution of an estate. A good estate plan will enhance and maintain the financial security of individuals and their families.


Schedule your initial consultation with our seasoned Des Moines estate planning lawyers by calling (515) 298-8850 or contacting us online.


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Pearson Bollman Law Pearson Bollman Law
  • He explained everything very clearly so they understood.
    - Debi A.
  • I would recommend Pearson Bollman Law for estate planning.
    - Mary J.K.
  • I completely recommend this law firm.
    - Alan S.
  • A true class act for a law office.
    - Jim D.
  • He handled our situation very promptly and to best meet our needs. His presentation and explanation to our family were exceptional.
  • Pearson Bollman Law does a great service to people like us who have already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for nursing home care.

Accessible and Client-Oriented Services

No matter where you are, we can help. Our experienced team of Des Moines estate planning attorneys is equipped to support you throughout the state of Iowa, with five convenient locations ready to serve your legal needs. Whether you need assistance applying for Medicaid, updating a trust, we have the reach and ability to give you quality legal services.

Our reputation speaks for itself. Our team includes an accomplished group of attorneys who will work directly with you throughout the process. Our estate planning and elder law services have proven successful for thousands of Iowans, and we can tailor our approach to these areas to suit your individual needs.

We are known for our attentive customer service. Our firm treats clients like members of our family, and we are invested in your long-term success. When you come to us with a problem or challenge, we do everything possible to give you the tools and support that you need to succeed.

Our firm’s fixed fees ensure no surprises. We are compassionate to the challenges that clients can sometimes face, which is why we are transparent about the costs of our legal services. You will not encounter any surprise or hidden fees: We will walk you through exactly what things will cost and what you will receive.

Legal Affiliations
  • NAELA
  • Wealth Counsel
  • Elder Law Answers
  • New ElderCounsel

Dedicated to Helping You and Your Family

What Makes Us Different
  • Experience
    With decades of experience between our attorneys and staff in estate planning and elder law, we are a premier Iowa law firm that has the skills you need in your corner.
  • Accessibility

    With 5 offices located throughout the State of Iowa, you will always have access to our team when you have questions or concerns about your case.

  • Fixed Fees
    We not only provide free initial consultations for our planning services, but most matters have fixed fees so you understand exactly what you get and how much it costs from the very beginning.
  • Skill
    When it comes to estate planning, we have a well-defined process that is tried and true, working well for thousands of clients in the past.

Build an Estate Plan with Our Help

What will happen to your estate once you are gone? Who will inherit your assets, and will they be taxed to oblivion? Who will take care of your children? If you need long-term care as you grow older, will the wealth you worked so hard to build be decimated by nursing home or assisted living expenses?

Our Des Moines estate planning attorneys at Pearson Bollman Law can help you answer these questions and more. In addition to our renowned estate planning and elder law services, we also offer estate litigation services. No matter what type of problem you face, our team has your back.

How to Design an Estate Plan

Designing an estate plan is a process. At Pearson Bollman Law, our estate planning lawyers will ask you a lot of questions. Below are just some of the questions we go through to assist us in designing an estate plan (either will-based or trust-based) that meets your goals.

  • Do you want to provide for and protect your spouse?
  • Do you want to provide for and protect your children?
  • Do you want to avoid probate?
  • Do you have a family business or farm you want to leave your children?
  • Do you want to protect your assets from lawsuits or creditors?
  • Do you want to protect your children’s inheritance from the possibility of failed marriages?
  • Do you want to ensure your death shall not be unnecessarily prolonged by artificial means or other measures?

What Do I Need to Create an Estate Plan?

Some of the documents we utilize to implement your estate plan are as follows:

  • Will: This legal document outlines who will manage the probate process for you, how your belongings will be distributed, and, if applicable, who you want to be nominated guardian of your minor children or other disabled family members after you die. If you die without a will, the state makes these decisions—often at an added cost to those you love most.
  • Trust: This legal document is generally an alternative to a will. The primary purpose to use a revocable trust instead of a will is to avoid probate.
  • Financial power of attorney: This delegates the power to someone you name to legally handle your financial affairs should you become disabled or incapacitated. Without this, no one may be able to access your bank account, securities, or any other property in your name without lengthy legal proceedings.
  • Living will: A living will informs medical personnel that you do not want certain life-sustaining procedures if you are in a terminal condition (which includes a persistent vegetative state and a coma) and unable to decide for yourself. It is important to inform your physician of your desire to deny any medical procedures, treatments, or interventions that use mechanical or artificial means to sustain, restore or supplant a spontaneous vital function and would serve only to prolong the dying process.

8 Common Estate Planning Mistakes

Avoiding common mistakes while creating an estate plan is essential. Ensure that you create a plan that is free of errors and protects your loved ones instead of creating stress for them.

Below are some of the most common estate planning errors:

  1. Doing it yourself. You can prepare your will yourself, but an attorney from our firm will not simply prepare documents. Our estate planning lawyers will determine your objectives, advise on what documents you need to meet them, we'll draft the documents to meet those objectives, and coordinate the titling of your assets.
  2. Believing that you don't need an estate plan. Parents with young children often have little extra cash but have life insurance and pension plans. The old saying of being “worth more dead than alive” applies to them. In the unlikely event that both parents die before their children reach age 18, without proper planning, a court-administered conservatorship will have to be established for each child. Each child will receive his or her share upon reaching age 18, to spend as he or she wishes.
  3. Believing that having a will means that you will avoid probate. A will actually contains the instructions for the Court for the probate process, naming who you want as an executor, that you want your bills and taxes paid, and any specific bequests and who is to receive the residue of your estate.
  4. Believing that your assets are going to pass under the terms of your will or trust. Simply because your will or trusts says who is going to receive your assets does not mean that is what will happen. Many assets pass outside the Will or Trust. Examples are life insurance, IRAs, annuities and other assets that have named beneficiaries.
  5. Not updating your estate plan. Heath Ledger, who made his millions in movies (Brokeback Mountain and The Dark Knight), died at age 28. He had a will which left his assets equally to his parents and his siblings, but left nothing to his infant daughter. Remember the 5 D’s of when you should update your estate plan: Divorce, Dependent, Disability, Death and Decade.
  6. Not planning for incompetence. Living wills, durable powers of attorney for health care decisions and durable power of attorney for financial decisions are a part of estate planning. Guardianship (over the body) and conservatorship (over the finances) proceedings are burdensome and expensive but are required for a people who do not have those documents and their decision-making capacity is so impaired that they are unable to make, communicate, or carry out important decisions concerning their own care and their financial affairs.
  7. Failing to update beneficiary designations. Your retirement plan, life insurance policy and more have beneficiary designation forms. It is important to not only keep the primary beneficiaries updated, but you should have secondary or contingent beneficiaries named in the event that the primary beneficiary has died. Since these forms were often completed years prior when an account was opened or a policy purchased, it’s an easy task to overlook.
  8. Not having enough ready cash to pay for the funeral and other final expenses. For example, having cash in accounts that are “payable on death” cannot be accessed without the death certificate which may take several weeks to get. As one of my clients said, after her husband died suddenly, leaving her with a mess, “I’d kill him, if he wasn’t already dead.” This is not the legacy you want to leave your family. You want a well-thought out plan that you have developed with the help of an estate planning attorney in Des Moines.

Learn more about how our affordable and accessible legal services can serve your needs by calling (515) 298-8850 or contacting us online. Speak with an experienced estate planning lawyer in Des Moines.


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