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
- BPS Lawyers
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- Partner
- Hassett & Geoge, PC
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- 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 Rating
- Martindale Hubbell
- AV Rating
- Martindale Hubbell
- AV rated since 2012
- Connecticut Bar Association
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- NAELA
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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. Does a life insurance policy have to be listed in probate?
- A: Not strictly speaking. Life insurance passes outside of probate. That said, the proceeds will probably need to be listed on the estate tax return. The proceeds may be included in your great uncle's estate, but unless the total is over 9.1 million (for 2022), no estate tax will be owed.
- Q. In Connecticut, does a living trust need to be witnessed if it contains real property?
- A: Very often after a revocable trust is created (or at the same time) the grantor who sets up the trust will transfer his or her house to the trust via a deed. It is unusual, very unusual, for the trust itself to convey real property. So assuming you follow the procedure of setting up the trust and then doing a deed to the trust, it doesn't need to be witnessed.
- Q. My father passed away a few weeks ago and did not have a will, He only has about $49,000 in his bank account and owned
- A: You will need to petition the probate court for what is called intestate administration. That is what the process is called when someone dies without a will. Since his solely owned assets are more than $40,000, you won't be able to file a short form probate (called an affidavit in lieu of administration). Once you file that and get appointed as the administrator, there is more work to be be done. If you search "10 steps in CT probate" you will find a list of what has to be done.
Law Offices of Steven Basche