Westchester County, New York - Estate Planning - Children Protection Plan

Estate planning is a time when you contemplate your life and relationships.  With the Law Office of Brian M. Higbie, you will face the question, what happens to my family if something were to happen to me?  This can be a great opportunity for your family to face these ultimate questions and to create a plan that will address what is most important to you.  Unfortunately, this is often a lost opportunity because the typical lawyer does not approach clients from the heart and is typically focused on money and property.  The question to often is not what happens to my family, it is what happens to my property?  I change this focus by doing a few things differently.  

1.  Our firm addresses the deeper questions.  Brian asks, what is important to you to leave to your family? To your partner? To your children? To your grandchildren? And Brian will guide you beyond money and property?

2.  Our firm creates a special plan for the care of minor children. If you have minor children, in addition to the traditional will or trust, our firm will offer you a comprehensive plan designed around taking care of your children.  A typical lawyer's plan includes naming a permanent guardian(s) for minor children and that is it.  With the planning we do, parents will name permanent guardians AND temporary guardians because a will doesn't become effective immediately.  What happens to the children in the meantime?  Too often children are taken into foster care system until a permanent guardian is named.  That is something that we address that the typical lawyer's plan does not.  

3.  Our firm records a legacy.  With typical planning, so much gets lost. The typical plan and planning process is designed to pass on tangible property.  But what about the intangible wealth?  I would love to know what my grandparents thought was important in life  and what matters most to a life well lived.  That didn't survive when they passed on. If for example you love to sing, how will that get passed on?  We have heard so many stories of people who have held on to a voicemail of a parent that passed because they wanted to hear that voice one more time.  And then the voicemail gets erased somehow; and it is lost.  With each of our clients, we interview you and record your answers.  This becomes part of your legacy that survives and can stay in the family for generations.    

4.  Our firm reviews plans every 3 years at no charge.  Families change, circumstances change, property changes, the laws change.  The reason online estate planning has any foothold is because clients feel like they bought a set of documents.  The lawyer prepares the documents and the clients go home, put them somewhere, and they sit there and collect dust.  Meanwhile, lives change, you don't own that home any more, your family members have different needs, the law has changed: when the time comes, chances are your estate plan is not going to work because it does not address the circumstances at the time.  That is why we recommend and encourage our clients to revisit their plans at most every 3 years.  But we don't just recommend it.  We will review the plan with you every 3 years for FREE.  

These are just 4 things that differentiate the Law Office of Brian M. Higbie from any other Law Office in Westchester, New York.  By doing these 4 things, Brian hopes to transform the legal practice and the lives of his clients.  Because these are issues of life and death and of mothers, fathers, and children, this is sacred work.  I bring years of compassionate counseling, and training to bear.  
 
Practice Areas include: Estate Planning, Children Protection Plan, administrative law, affordable housing, appeals, automobile liability, bankruptcy, civil litigation, criminal, commercial litigation, compliance (regulatory), condominium, construction, contracts, cooperative housing, copyright, corporations, creditor/debtor, easements, employment, environmental, Fair Housing Act disputes, Family Medical Leave Act disputes, foreclosure, franchise, HOA (homeowners association), housing discrimination, immigration, incorporation, land use, landlord/tenant, lemon law, municipal, non-profit, personal injury, professional malpractice, public utility, real estate, residential and commercial leasing, residential real estate sales, short sales, tax certiorari, trademark, vehicle and traffic infractions, zoning, 501(c)(3).

I live and work in Westchester County and I represent clients just like you from the surrounding area including New York City and Long Island.

Please use our contact form on the top right, or call Brian right now at: (914) 613-9250