Estate Planning & Probate Attorney

Estate Planning and Probate Attorneys Serving the Lowcountry

Planning for what happens to your estate isn’t only for those with significant wealth. Everyone who owns property, has family they want to provide for, or wants to avoid leaving loved ones with unnecessary legal complications benefits from having a plan in place. Vaux Marscher Berglind, P.A. was founded in 1973 by attorney Roberts Vaux, and our estate planning and probate attorneys help clients think through the decisions that estate planning requires, from who manages their affairs if they become incapacitated to how their assets pass on to the people and causes they care about.

Questions Worth Asking Before You Plan Your Estate

Every estate plan starts with a set of personal questions, not a form. Do you want to avoid probate? Are you concerned about estate tax exposure? Do you need a health care power of attorney, a financial power of attorney, or a living will in place? If you’re in a second marriage, do you want to make sure assets pass to your own children specifically? Do you want a trust to fund a grandchild’s education, or to protect a beneficiary’s inheritance from creditors or from affecting their eligibility for government benefits? If you have minor children, have you named a guardian? These aren’t questions with a single right answer, they depend on your specific family and goals, which is why we start every estate plan with a conversation rather than a template.

Estate Planning and Probate Services

Wills and revocable living trusts — a will directs how your estate is distributed, while a revocable living trust can serve as a will substitute designed primarily to avoid probate

Powers of attorney — a durable power of attorney for financial matters and a health care power of attorney let you name who makes decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated, without your family having to petition the court for a court-appointed decision-maker

Probate and estate administration — if you pass away with a will, your estate is filed with and overseen by the Probate Court, a statutory process that involves notifying interested parties, marshaling assets, paying debts and taxes, and settling the estate

Estate and inheritance tax planning — since estate tax laws change periodically and involve multiple planning options, we help clients understand which strategies apply to their specific situation

Frequently Asked Questions