Estate planning is not just for millionaires. You may not think you have an estate, let alone any need for a plan, but if you have children, if you have things of value, if you own a home, you need an estate plan. An estate plan ensures that you decide who gets your hard earned assets, whatever their size or value-- not the government. Without an estate plan, your wealth, your estate will pass according to the state intestacy statute. Don't you want to decide to whom and when your assets should be distributed and not a probate court?
Estate is planning how you direct to whom your property will be distributed and who will care for your minor children. Estate planning helps reduce tax liabilities, court costs, and attorneys' fees, and can minimize disputes after your death the loss of family members. We can also design your estate plan to deal with your possible future mental or physical incapacity, either through a trust or a durable power of attorney.
In addition, we can guide you through many situations that come up in everyday life that have a legal angle. Whether you are buying or selling a home, starting, buying or selling a business, switching jobs and need a severance or non-compete agreement reviewed, dealing with a minor criminal mater or have been injured in a car accident, you should have a lawyer you can turn to for advice. If we don't have the expertise to help you, we will find someone who does. The bottom line is that we want to be your lawyer.
You have a family doctor (now they call them primary care physicians); you should have a family lawyer. If you want the benefit of a lawyer with a combination of 34 years of far reaching experience, offering values-based, parent-centered estate planning, and a passion for helping clients, call or email Steve today.
- University of Connecticut School of Law
- J.D
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- Partner
- Hassett & Geoge, PC
- - Current
- Principal
- Law Offices of Steven M. Basche, LLC
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- Of Counsel
- Sabia, Taiman
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- Partner
- Jacobs, Walker, Rice & Basche, LLC
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- Associate
- Cohn & Birnbaum
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- Associate
- Schatz & Schatz, Ribicoff & Kotkin
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- Estate Planning 101, Summer Conference, Mohegan Sun
- Connecticut Education Association
- Basic estate planning for Teachers
- How can owners keep what they have earned., Exit Planning Exchange (XPX), Hartford CT
- XPX Hartford
- The Importance of Special Needs Trusts, Parent Partnership, Cromwell, Connecticut
- Adelbrook
- Educational presentation to parents of kids with special needs on the purposes of Special Needs Trust.
- Estate Planning Basics, CEA Summer Conference, Mohegan Sun
- CEA
- AV Rating
- Martindale Hubbell
- AV Rating
- Martindale Hubbell
- AV Rating
- Martindale Hubbell
- AV rated since 2012
- Connecticut Bar Association
- Member
- - Current
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- NAELA
- Member
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- Connecticut
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- 2nd Circuit
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Credit Cards Accepted
Major Credit Cards Accepted -
Contingent Fees
Are available
- Estate Planning
- Guardianship & Conservatorship Estate Administration, Health Care Directives, Trusts, Wills
- Probate
- Probate Administration, Probate Litigation, Will Contests
- Elder Law
- Business Law
- Business Contracts, Business Dissolution, Business Finance, Business Formation, Business Litigation, Franchising, Mergers & Acquisitions, Partnership & Shareholder Disputes
- Real Estate Law
- Commercial Real Estate, Easements, Land Use & Zoning, Mortgages, Neighbor Disputes, Residential Real Estate
- English: Spoken, Written
- Q. Can items like a laptop and cell phone count as Medicaid spend down for a parent being admitted to a nursing home in CT?
- A: Yes, those items can be purchased as part of the spend down.
- Q. I have filled out a statutory short form power of attorney in Ct. Is this legal and binding?
- A: You should be all set. Just make sure you understand that the initial powers, usually on the first page, are all included unless you cross them out, but the optional estate planning powers are not included unless you initial next to them to add them in.
- Q. Is an estate still obligated to pay bills that were received after the hearing to settle it?
- A: In Connecticut, if a claim is not presented to the fiduciary within 150 days from the date of the fiduciary's appointment, the fiduciary is not personally chargeable for any assets (i) paid in satisfaction of any lawful claims, expenses or taxes, or (ii) distributed to any beneficiaries, provided such payments and distributions were made in good faith (i.e., the fiduciary had no knowledge of unfiled claims) before such late-filed claim was presented. That being said, the estate assets distributed to the beneficiaries are deemed available for the payment of any such claim until the applicable statute of limitations has expired. I have never actually seen a case where a creditor who filed a late claim actually pursued the beneficiaries after assets were distributed. Depending on the size of the claims, you may want to consult an attorney about whether to take any other steps to protect you.
Law Offices of Steven Basche