Your Idaho Estate Planning Attorney
No matter where you live in Idaho, Taylor Law & Mediation PLLC’s Idaho estate planning services can help you complete your own estate plan, which includes more than just a basic will.
We are proud to serve the diverse communities throughout Idaho. We have locations in Boise, Coeur D’Alene, Mountain Home, and Pocatello, but even if you’re not in one of these cities, we can help! Robert’s comprehensive approach, coupled with his personal experiences and community involvement, allows us to provide tailored estate planning solutions. Whether you’re considering wills, trusts, or other crucial components of Idaho estate planning, trust Robert Taylor to guide you through the process with expertise, empathy, and a commitment to securing a legacy that reflects your wishes.
Whether you’re embarking on life’s journey or contemplating its conclusion, Robert Taylor is your trusted partner in safeguarding your legacy. While contemplating mortality may be uncomfortable, having a well-crafted estate plan is crucial to alleviate the burden on your loved ones during challenging times. If you don’t have an estate plan, Idaho state laws will determine the distribution of your assets after your passing, potentially resulting in unexpected hardships for those you care about. If you have children who are minors and don’t have a will, a separate court process will be necessary to determine who will be appointed as the guardian of your children and their property.
Our Idaho estate planning services will help you control what happens to your assets and property upon your death. You can’t control when you may become sick, injured, incapacitated, or die, but you can be prepared in the event any of these events happen to you.
Everyone, including you, should have an estate plan because an unexpected illness or injury could happen at any time. We have Idaho estate planning services for estates of all sizes, and are experienced in helping families who’ve been through divorce, business owners, and other more challenging situations. If you live anywhere in Idaho, we can help you. Give our estate planning lawyers a call today to get personalized advice and assistance on creating your own estate plan.
Who Should Create an Estate Plan?
Everyone over the age of 18 should have an estate plan. Estate planning is for everyone, no matter how old you are or how much money you have (or don’t have). An estate plan will assist in the following scenarios:
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- You have minor children and you want to decide who should be their guardian if you (and their other parent) pass away.
- Someone you love has special needs, and you want to provide financially for that person.
- You want to control how your assets are distributed to people or causes you care about and you want to reduce potential loss due to estate taxes.
- You have wealth or assets, and you want to make sure that you have someone you trust managing that money or property if something happens to you.
- You are part of a blended family and want to ensure that both your current spouse and your children are properly taken care of after the death of either of you.
- You want to decide what your family should do if they are forced to “pull the plug” or make other difficult choices for your healthcare when faced with a medical emergency.
- You want to control whether you should get CPR, whether or not a feeding tube should be used, or whether or not other extraordinary measures should be used to prolong your life in the event you become permanently unconscious or in a persistent vegetative state.
Estate planning ensures you and your family have a plan no matter what stage of life you are in, including marriage, while your kids are growing up, divorce, retirement, towards the end of your life, and after your death. Estate planning gives you complete control over some of the most important details of your life, such as who will make financial decisions on your behalf if you’re unable to do so on your own or who will oversee the distribution of your assets upon your death.
Should I wait until I have more money to make an estate plan? Or until I have children?
A lot of people mistakenly believe estate plans are only for wealthy or elderly people, but the reality is they are for everyone. Simply put, if you own a home or have bank or retirement accounts, you could likely benefit from establishing a trust. If you have minor children, you need to appoint someone to raise them in your absence as well as someone to manage any assets you leave them until they can do so themselves.
You need to create an estate plan so you can:
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- Name a guardian for younger children and provide for them financially.
- Make a plan for what would happen to your cats, dogs, or horses (or any other pets) if you pass away.
- Determine who will get what assets if you die so there’s no family fighting.
- Reduce the taxes that could be assessed on your estate or eliminate those taxes altogether.
- Determine what happens if you become incapacitated.
A complete estate plan will address your medical care and the medical decisions that must be made. If you wait to make an estate plan and something happens to you, such as if you get hurt or sick and are no longer of sound mind, you won’t be able to express your preferences or desires. If you wait until you need a health care powers of attorney, then it will be too late for you to create one.
You can always amend your Idaho estate plan as major live events happen, such as the birth of a child, the start or end of a marriage, or upon receiving your own inheritance. But it’s better to have a plan now and update it later than it is to not make a plan and hope you don’t need it later.
What Documents Should Be Included in My Estate Plan?
The exact documents included in your estate plan will vary based on your own wishes, the assets and property you have, the size of your family, the age of your children, and any unique needs of your family members. Parents of young children will likely have a much different estate plan than someone with adult children and a large estate who wants to leave everything to charity. Everyone should get professional help with the estate planning process to ensure they have a plan that is tailored for them, their family, and their unique needs.
As a Boise estate planning attorney, our job is to help you make full use of the available legal tools to help you achieve your goals and to create and protect your legacy. Your plan may include:
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- A Will
- A Family Trust (if needed)
- A living will and durable power for attorney for health care
- A durable powers of attorney
These are just some of the many different tools frequently included in estate plans that a trusts lawyer can help you with.
Why trust Taylor Law & Mediation PLLC to help with your Boise estate planning?
At Taylor Law & Mediation PLLC, our attorney, Robert J. Taylor, first became involved in estate planning as a paralegal for the Idaho Army National Guard’s JAG section in 2003, helping Soldiers preparing to deploy complete their wills.
That passion and interest in helping other people prepare for the future never left Robert, even as he became a commissioned officer himself and, later, a licensed attorney.
Robert founded Taylor Law & Mediation PLLC in 2013 in Mountain Home, Idaho, just 10 miles outside of Mountain Home Air Force Base.
Looking back, Robert didn’t expect to focus on any specific area of the law as an attorney in a small town. However, many of his first clients were military members, and he felt inclined to tailor his services to meet their needs. This included being able to provide services to them anywhere in the world they happened to be. To do this, Robert leaned fully into available technology to communicate with his clients around the country and world and to deliver them the best possible legal services. Eventually, Robert decided to focus on uncontested divorces and to use this technology to serve clients throughout Idaho to help solve the problem of there not being enough attorneys in rural communities to serve large portions of the state’s population.
In 2023, the Idaho legislature approved (source) electronic wills for the first time in the state’s history. This change to Idaho law allowed Taylor Law & Mediation PLLC to use the same technology the firm uses to help people get divorced no matter where they live to help them prepare a will, living trust, and other estate planning documents.
More than half of the country’s population does not have a will, and more than 40 percent of the country’s counties have fewer than one attorney per 1,000 residents. Taylor Law & Mediation PLLC brings estate planning to Idaho’s citizens, no matter where they live in Idaho.F
Contact Us for Estate Planning Services
Taylor Law & Mediation PLLC helps people of all ages and at all income and asset levels in Idaho develop an estate plan. Talk with our estate planning lawyers.
Our estate planning process
Our goal is to be as efficient as possible with both your time and your dollars. While your situation may require a different method, typically, our Boise estate planning lawyers will follow these steps:
Initial consultation: Our first meeting will be over the phone. This will allow us to answer any questions you have and to outline the rest of our process for you.
Estate Planning Questionnaire: After we’ve had our initial consultation, we will send you an estate planning questionnaire. You will complete this the best that you can and we will answer any questions you have as you complete it.
Planning session: After you’ve completed the estate planning questionnaire, your lawyer will review it and let you know if he/she has any questions and if anything is missing. Once the questionnaire has been completed, you and your attorney will conduct a video call to ensure you and your attorney have a shared understanding of your intent and desires.
Drafting session: Following this session, your attorney will draft the required documents for your estate plan and will then email them to you for your review.
Review session: Once you’ve had the chance to review your will and estate plan, you and your attorney will have a second video conference. This will allow you to ensure that you understand the documents and that they meet your desires.
Execution session: Once you are happy with your estate planning documents, you will sign your documents with the assistance of an online notary.
How Much Does an Estate Plan Cost?
While we can’t quote you an exact rate for an estate plan without knowledge of your situation, most plans range from $1,500 – $5,000, depending on the complexity of your assets. Owning several properties, having several investment accounts, or owning a business are just a few things that may cause an estate plan to cost more.
About Idaho Estate Planning Attorney Robert J. Taylor
Robert J. Taylor, the founder of Taylor Law & Mediation PLLC, brings a unique and diverse background to his estate planning attorney services. With a strong foundation in law and mediation, Robert has been serving the legal needs of the Idaho community since establishing his practice in 2013. Beyond his legal expertise, Robert’s commitment to public service is evident through his roles as an engineer officer and public affairs officer in the Idaho Army National Guard. His journey from a paralegal specialist to a highly accomplished attorney reflects not only his dedication but also his understanding of the intricacies involved in legal processes.
Robert’s educational achievements, including a J.D. from the University of Idaho College of Law, coupled with his experiences as a journalist and assistant adviser, further enrich his capabilities. As he expands his estate planning services, clients can trust Robert’s holistic approach, combining legal proficiency with a deep understanding of community dynamics and personal needs. Robert Taylor is well-positioned to provide comprehensive estate planning solutions to the residents of Idaho.
Idaho Areas We Serve With Estate Planning Services
- Meridian
- Eagle
- Star
- Kuna
- Garden City
- Caldwell
- Nampa
- Middleton
- Mountain Home
- Coeur D’Alene
- Boise
- Ketchum
- Caldwell
- Sun Valley
- Parma
- Pocatello
- Twin Falls
