Who You Are
At Cris Carter Law there is one thing that we know for sure. We know that your family and loved ones are important to you. We also know that no two families are alike. That is why we will sit down with you, learn about your family and focus on what’s important to you. We are dedicated to providing our clients with candid advice about the variety of estate planning tools that are available. We help you select those tools that are most appropriate and best serve your needs given what’s important to you and your family. Together, we will create the estate plan that will allow you the peace of mind knowing that your family will be taken care of even after you are gone.
Life comes in seasons. Just as the we experience spring, summer, fall and winter, our lives have cycles and seasons. The first season of life, from birth to the mid-twenties, is a season of learning, growing and maturing. It is a season of education and experiences that prepare us for the next season, adulthood. The season of adulthood is where we start our family, build our career, develop relationships and make our way in the world. The next season, a season of reaping what we have sown and beginning to harvest a legacy. No matter what season of life you are in, Cris Carter Law can design an estate plan for you.
Estate planning is much more than having a last will and testament. Creating an estate plan is essential to protecting your loved ones from chaos, confusion and stress when the unexpected occurs. It is never too early to design your estate plan. Designing your estate plan needs to be done sooner rather than later. Parents of young children can designate the person or couple they want to raise their children. Older adults can use an estate plan to make health decisions that impact their quality of life. You can leave your family a legacy of love that you will be proud of.
You love your family.
You want to ensure things are as easy as possible for them if and when something happens to you.
You show your love through acts of service. You want to pass on what you have worked so hard for your entire life and do it in a way that feels good and full of ease.
And your wealth isn’t measured just by the dollars in the bank, but by the well-being of the people you love.
You may be single, married, have children or not. The one common denominator is that you truly and deeply care about the people in your life and you want to make things as easy as possible for them when something happens.
You are not alone. We are here to help.
For the specifics of estate planning based on your situation, check out our details on our menu under Services.
No matter your situation, this important planning will give you peace of mind that the people and things you care about are protected.
When you are married with children, estate planning seems pretty straightforward.
You want your spouse making decisions for you if you are incapacitated, and you want to make sure your assets go to your spouse when you die and then to your children after your spouse is gone.
Seems simple, right?
If only our probate courts weren’t clogged with the impact of the complexity of money and family. Then it would be “easy” to go through court and there wouldn’t be $600 million dollars’ worth of assets in Colorado alone in unclaimed property which pales in contrast with the $58 BILLION (that is billion with a ”Capital B”) of assets in the state departments of unclaimed property across the United States.
There are so many questions that need to be answered to ensure your family stays out of court and out of conflict in the event of your incapacity or death, even when you are simply married with children. And some tactical specifics need to happen to ensure your assets don’t end up lost to the state department of unclaimed property if your family overlooks something when you are not there to guide them.
Plus, if you are in a blended family with children from a prior marriage, it’s an almost guarantee the people you love will end up in conflict if you don’t plan ahead.
Most of all, your wealth isn’t measured just by the dollars in your bank account but by the well-being of the people you love. If you are reading this, it is because you care enough to get your estate planning handled so your family will stay out of court and out of conflict no matter what.
We know you are busy, and we promise to make the process as simple and easy for you as possible. Click here to see just how easy it is to get started.
You love your family.
You want to ensure things are as easy as possible for them if and when something happens to you.
Here is the really important part though: If you are a blended family and either you or your spouse have children from a prior marriage, there is no way around it – you must plan ahead to keep the people you love out of conflict.
No matter how close or friendly you think your spouse and your children are, there is simply an unavoidable and inherent conflict among them upon your death.
The great news is that this conflict can be reduced, and you can make sure that the people you love most will be well taken care of with any messiness.
You can take actions in advance to support getting everyone on the same team even when your loved ones are grief stricken because something has happened to you.
But it doesn’t happen automatically. It takes planning. At Cris Carter Law that is what we do. We are trained and highly skilled in planning for the needs of blended families.
If you are in a blended family, schedule your Family Wealth Planning Session and we will look together at everything you own and everyone you love, and what would happen to all of it when something happens to you.
At the very least, you are informed, educated and can choose what the right planning decisions are for the people you love.
You love your children.
You have the primary responsibility for ensuring their well-being and care.
If something happens to you while they are minors, you want to ensure you have made the decision about who cares for them, and how.
In the most ideal scenario, your child’s other parent would be suitable to take custody of your child if you cannot be there. But in many cases, that’s not possible or desired.
And even if it is, you may want the financial resources you are leaving behind handled by someone other than your former spouse or partner.
No matter what the scenario, as a single parent (whether your child’s other parent is in the picture or not), you need to take the necessary steps to legally document who you would want raising your child, how you would want your child raised, and how you want your assets handled for your child in case anything happens to you.
We know you are busy, and we promise to make the process as simple and easy for you as possible.
In so many ways, estate planning is almost MORE important for you when you are in an unmarried relationship with your life partner.
And if you have children together, it is exponentially more important for you to get your estate planning handled right.
The law does not protect your life partner. Period.
You have to take action yourself to ensure you will have access to your loved one’s hospital bedside and that your life partner will have access to you if you are hospitalized.
If you do not take action, it is very likely that the person you love most in the world could be blocked from being with you in an accident, making health care decisions for you, deciding what you are nourished with if you can’t decide for yourself, or who gets to see you.
And that’s just your healthcare.
Without the protection of estate planning, the person you love most in the world could be thrown out of your house, ejected from your business, or locked out of your finances.
If you have children together, your children could even be taken out of your life partner’s care.
Estate planning when you are unmarried is not optional. It is truly a matter of life and death for the people you love most.
We know you are busy, and we promise to make the process as simple and easy for you as possible. Click here to see just how easy it is to get started.
No matter who your chosen family is, you have people and things you care about, and you want to ensure things are as easy for them as possible if and when something happens to you.
You want to pass on what you have worked so hard for your entire life and do it in a way that helps your loved ones know and feel your love just when they will need to most.
On top of that, and maybe even more importantly, you want to choose who will receive what you have worked so hard to create, and also ensure that your chosen family will be able to care for and love you in the event you are incapacitated and cannot make healthcare decisions for yourself.
Your wealth is not measured just by the dollars in your bank account but by the well-being of the people you love.
You care enough to get your estate planning handled so your loved ones will not get stuck in court or conflict when you become incapacitated or die.
We know you are busy, and we promise to make the process as simple and easy for you as possible.
Your first step is to schedule your personal Family Estate Planning Session. You can schedule online here, by email to clientservices@CrisCarterLaw.com or by calling the office at (719) 434-0000. Prior to your Family Estate Planning Session, you’ll receive an email with your Family Planning Worksheet. You will complete the worksheet and return it to our office with any existing estate planning documents you have so we will have time to review all information before your Family Estate Planning Session.
(719) 434-0000
clientservices@CrisCarterLaw.com
2580 E Harmony Road, Suite 201 Fort Collins, CO 80528
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