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Las Vegas Estate Planning Attorneys

Las Vegas Estate Planning Attorneys

The attorneys at Morris Law Center come to you with more than 30 years of combined experience and knowledge in estate planning. Our attorneys work alongside highly-trained support staff and industry-leading professionals to bring clients the results they deserve.  We provide comprehensive legal representation in the areas of estate planning, and asset protection to clients throughout Las Vegas, Clark County, and Southern Nevada. We also offer probate services, which is the legal process of administering a person’s estate after they pass away.

Our Estate Planning Practice Areas Include:

  • Wills
  • Living Trusts
  • Incapacity Planning
  • Legacy Planning
  • Pet Trusts
  • Nevada Asset Protection Trusts
  • Business Owner Liability Protection
  • Financial Powers of Attorney
  • Health Care Powers of Attorney
  • Homestead Declarations
  • Deeds
  • Probate

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Benefits of Having an Estate Plan and a Trusted Estate Planning Attorney

Morris Law Center is an established part of the Las Vegas community, serving clients throughout southern Nevada. Our attorneys and staff offer a welcoming, family-oriented environment where you can feel comfortable discussing important questions and concerns regarding your estate.  Estate planning is, both, planning for life’s potential emergencies and inevitable occurrences. No matter how large or small, everyone can benefit from an estate plan. An estate plan is comprised of multiple components that protect you and your loved ones in the event of your incapacity or death.

Most estates valued over $25,000 are subject to probate, unless you have a properly formed and funded trust in place. In the event of an emergency, you want control over important health and financial decisions and, when the time comes, you want control over how your assets and possessions are given to the people or organizations that matter to you.

Our estate planning attorneys will work diligently and compassionately with you to guide you toward achieving your goals, plans, and dreams. We strive to form long-lasting relationships with our clients, so that as your life changes, we can have conversations, and make recommendations that will be best for you and your family.

I just had my Living Trust updated and was extremely impressed with Morris Law Center. The entire firm was incredibly knowledgeable and professional. We learned very quickly after our first meeting with Sarah that our Trust from 15 years ago was very outdated. A lot happens in 15 years that you don’t think about and something you think is protecting you and your family really isn’t any longer. Sarah took the time to review all aspects of our lives, made some great recommendations for protecting our assets that we never even thought about. My husband and I are so grateful that we hired such a professional firm. I highly recommend this firm for Estate Planning or business related needs you may have. – J. Laney

August 2019

Estate Planning FAQs

Estate planning allows individuals to decide who will benefit from their estate, and to what extent, after they have passed away. In addition, everyone should have an estate plan because it has components that protect them while they are still alive. Furthermore, planning ahead reduces uncertainty and saves the heirs time and money after their loved one has passed.

Estate planning attorneys are well versed in case law and legislation that can affect a state's ever changing probate code. A "DIY" or online estate plan does not include a licensed professional to ensure that the heirs will readily distribute the estate. There is also risk of error as some consumers may never realize that they erroneously entered information into the program. The program can also misinterpret or not be up to date on all probate laws, and documents are not reviewed by licensed professionals who can make recommendations that are specific to the needs of a family. For example, many "DIY" plans are not state specific.

A will is a legal document by which a person expresses their wishes as to how and to whom their property is to be distributed at death. It includes the name of an executor to manage the estate until its final distribution. A will does not avoid probate, so your heirs will likely need to go through that process. If a person passes away without a will in Nevada their assets will be distributed via intestate succession, so the State won't get your assets unless the entirety of Chapter 134 of the Nevada Revised States fails.

A living trust, when executed perfectly, allows the heirs to completely (or almost completely) bypass the costly and time-consuming process of probate. The living trust enables the successor trustee, who fills basically the same role as an executor of a will, to swiftly carry out the instructions documented in the trust without court intervention.

"Funding" a trust is the process of transferring ownership of the assets away from personal ownership and into the trust. The process requires one to change titles from individual or joint names to the name of the trust. It is important to do this because a trust can only control the assets that are put into it. Unfortunately, any assets that are not in the trust will have to be transferred via probate, potentially costing the heirs time and money.

A power of attorney ("POA") allows you to choose an agent to make medical, financial, or other important legal decisions in the event of your incapacity. While the financial POA might be more obviously beneficial, the medical POA is a particular kindness to the family as they can be absolutely sure about the wishes of their loved one.

Probate is the court mandated process of transferring a decedent's assets to their heirs. In general, probate is to be avoided because it often requires a significant expenditure of time and money to navigate the process.