Estate Planning & Probate

Our Will Packages include a Last Will & Testament, a comprehensive Estate Planning Memorandum for your personal property bequests and funeral instructions, and Durable and Health Care Powers of Attorney.

We can help you set up various types of Trusts such as Revocable Living Trusts, Special Needs Trusts, and Gift to Minors Trusts, to name a few. If you’ve recently moved to the area from another state, we can help you with the appropriate Amendments and Restatements of your Trust to be governed by South Carolina law, as well as any other amendments to the Trust that you may need such as a change of beneficiary, trustee, or percentage distributions.

A Durable Power of Attorney is a document wherein you appoint an agent to manage your legal and financial affairs in the event that you can no longer perform these functions for yourself in the future.

A Health Care Power of Attorney is a document wherein you appoint an agent to manage your health care decisions for you in the event that you can no longer manage those decisions for yourself. A Living Will is often referred to as your “Advanced Directive” or your “DNR” (Do Not Resuscitate), and it allows you to plan for your end of life decisions should you or your loved ones be faced with these difficult decisions.

The above-referenced documents are some of the most important documents that you will have during your lifetime, as the creation of the agencies within them ends at your death. If you wait until a medical event occurs that renders you legally incapacitated, and you do not have these documents, then the much more difficult and expensive process of a Guardianship and Conservatorship is necessary.

Probate & Trust Administration

Whether you have a Will or a Trust, we can see to it that your estate is administered according to your wishes.

Probate is a title-passing function to ensure that your assets are given to the appropriate individuals or entities at your death so that your beneficiaries have proper, legal title to your assets at the conclusion of the probate process. We can work with your named Personal Representative(s) to ensure that the probate process is handled properly. If you do not have a Will at your death, we can still help you with the probate process, but your beneficiaries will be decided by the South Carolina Probate Code and the related intestacy statutes.

One of the great things about having a trust is that you can avoid the probate process in most instances if your trust is properly funded. Of course, it depends on the type of trust that you have, but our team can help you privately administer your trust assets to your loved ones by working with your named Trustee(s) and tax professionals to ensure a smooth transition of your assets.

One of the best ways to avoid probate and trust litigation is to have a thoughtful and precise estate plan. However, in the event that there is a disagreement amongst beneficiaries of a Trust or a Will, McLaurin Law, LLC is here to help. Our team can help you in a variety of ways so that your rights are protected and so that the wishes of your loved ones are satisfied.

Most people have legal control over themselves and their property, and are able to act on their own behalf. If your loved one has become incapacitated due to an illness, disease, or disability, and does NOT have a Power of Attorney, then the law of Guardianships and Conservatorships becomes applicable. McLaurin Law, LLC can help you navigate this difficult process by working with the family and the Probate Court in the County where the incapacitated individual resides. We’re here to help so that you can focus on providing the care and attention that your loved one deserves.

Medicaid Planning is a complex process which involves many factors. If a spouse or parent has been diagnosed with an illness, disease, or disability which requires long-term, skilled care in a nursing home, we’re here to help. At McLaurin Law, LLC, we can analyze your case to see if Medicaid Planning is an option for your family. The benefits of a good Medicaid Plan can potentially reduce the cost of care and preserve wealth for the next generation of the family.