Jeff Jones Law

Jeff Jones is a lawyer admitted to the bar in Maine and New Jersey, with a practice limited to matters involving trusts and estates. Examples of the kind of legal matters Jeff handles include wills, trusts, powers of attorney, probate, estate planning, estate taxes, planning for family business succession, asset protection (especially family real estate), charitable gift planning and elder law.

The information presented on these web pages is not a substitute for personal legal advice, tailored to your particular situation.

Estate Planning

Estate planning services involve creating a plan and the required documents to make sure that your assets get to the people you want to have them after your death, at minimal or no tax cost. Documents are the result, not the focus, of the plan. They might include:

...a will...one or more trusts
...one (or usually two) powers of attorney
...a health care directive
...creation of a LLC or other family entity.

With retirement plan and IRA assets comprising an ever-increasing share of every family's net worth, estate planning for these assets is becoming critically important. Unfortunately, retirement plan assets and IRAs in an estate will be subject to state and federal income taxes, and may be subject to the estate tax as well. Nearly 2/3 of the value of your retirement can be lost to taxes without proper planning! This is a complex and highly specialized area, but one you cannot afford to ignore. Your beneficiary designations must be reviewed, and it may be necessary to execute a "Retirement Asset Will" (a detailed beneficiary designation that would never fit in the 1" space usually provided by your plan custodian or trustee).