Lee Law Office provides help to LGBTQ individuals who wish to make an estate plan. Whether you are married, single, or living in a committed non-marriage relationship, we can help you to address the issues that may arise towards the end of your life and after you pass on.
While Obergefell v. Hodges, the case legalizing gay marriage, has made estate planning easier for LGBTQ individuals who choose to enter into legal marriages, many LGBTQ individuals still face unique estate planning challenges and need to get help from an who understands how to make the law work for them.
Lee Law Office is the firm to turn to when you need a Richmond LGBTQ estate planning lawyer with unparalleled experience. Give us a call today to learn how we can help you to create a personalized estate planning and to get answers to questions you may have about LGBTQ estate planning including:
- Why is LGBTQ estate planning important?
- How can I create my estate plan?
- How can a Richmond, VA LGBTQ estate planning lawyer help me?
Why is LGBTQ Estate Planning Important?
If you are an LGBTQ individual, you need to make certain that your wishes are respected for what should happen at the end of your life. If you are not married but you want a partner to make decisions on your behalf or have visitation rights, you will need to make a plan to ensure that this happens. If you are transgender and are concerned about how this will impact medical care you receive, you will need to work with an experienced attorney to make certain you have advanced directives in place to retain as much control as possible over your care even if something should happen to you.
You also need to consider what will happen after you pass away, especially if your biological family is not wholly supportive of your relationships or your true gender identity. If you have non-supportive family members, you may have to take steps to ensure that your last will and testament cannot be successfully contested so you can leave your assets to the person you desire. If you are transgender, you need to make certain that you are memorialized in an appropriate way as there have been incidents where family members have not used proper names or gender identities for transgender individuals who have passed on.
If you have children and you are raising them with a parent who is not their adoptive or biological parent, you will also need to address this vitally important issue as well. You need to make clear who your child’s guardian will be if something should happen to you and you cannot raise the child to adulthood. Expressing your preferences is vital to make certain your child does not end up caught up in a custody battle and to ensure your child can stay with your partner if you would prefer this, even if your partner is not the child’s biological parent.
How can I Create my Estate Plan?
LGBTQ individuals face many of the same estate planning issues as cisgender and heterosexual people, but with added complications that can arise because of discrimination and because of the fact that 100 percent acceptance is still not a guarantee. It is important for LGBTQ individuals to work with an experienced attorney who can discuss their goals and advise them of the different legal tools that can be utilized to realize those goals.
For example, if you are concerned that your last will and testament could be contested, Lee Law Office can help you to find other ways to facilitate the transfer of your wealth, such as joint ownership of your assets, the use of trusts, and the use of pay on death accounts.
Lee Law Office also provides you with assistance understanding some of the other issues that can arise in making plans for your funeral, for who will make end-of-life decisions and act as your guardian in case of incapacity, and for how you can control your legacy.
How Can a Richmond, VA LGBTQ Estate Planning Lawyer Help Me?
You deserve to make the law work for you, even if it has been a long hard road to get protections in place for LGBTQ individuals and even though we are not yet at the end of that road and at the point of true 100 percent equality and acceptance.
Lee Law Office can help you to work within the state laws of Virginia and the federal laws of the U.S. to control your own destiny and to protect your loved ones during your life and after your death. Give us a call today to find out more about the ways in which a Richmond, VA LGBTQ estate planning lawyer can help you and to ensure that you have the right plans in place to protect yourself and the people you love.