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Karen L. Brady & Associates Estate & Business Planning Law Firm

New Books on Estate Planning

Yes, that title reads “books”, as in plural. So much exciting news to report!

First, the long awaited book on estate planning for Colorado residents is now in print. It’s titled Your Legacy: Meaningful Estate Planning. I coordinated the work of several other attorneys to help me write some of the chapters, and I must admit it is terrific. We worked hard so that it is easy to read and understand. It is 205 pages. It is divided into four parts, namely: “Discerning and Defining Your Goals,” “The Basic Solutions”, “Special Situations”, and “Technical Considerations and Advanced Solutions.” There are chapters on living trusts, blended families, single people, special needs families, charitable planning, animal companions, and medicaid qualification. Part Iv includes a discussion on taxes, probate, IRAs, life insurance trusts, and others.

Suggested retail price is $24.95, but if you mention this August 16th post, we’ll send it to you for the approximate mailing cost, that is $2.50. Or, you can attend one of our upcoming workshops and receive the book for free!

Second, I’ve co-authored another book on estate planning. This one is intended for financial advisors and accountants. This book is called Estate Planning and Taxation in Colorado. (If anyone has a knack for book titles, let me know. I clearly need some help in that arena.) This book is published by a Colorado-based legal publisher, Bradford Publishing. Check out this link for more info.

Welcome to our law firm’s website

Here you can sign up for a workshop, contact us to make an appointment, learn more about living trusts, estate planning, business planning, business succession, or business coaching. Or you can scroll down on this page and view a video on estate planning. Whatever your needs, we look forward to hearing from you.

We are a firm of attorneys specializing in estate and business planning located in Arvada and serving all of Colorado, especially the western Denver and Jefferson County metro areas of Golden, Wheat Ridge, Lakewood, Westminster, Broomfield, Louisville, Boulder, and Arvada. We also have clients who reside out of state, either because they couldn’t bear to be parted from us after they moved or because their Colorado friends or relatives recommended us.

When most people think of estate planning, they think of wills, living trusts, powers of attorney, and living wills. They may have read about family limited partnerships or personal residence trusts. These describe necessary documents, but in our view they are are merely words on paper without a process designed to incorporate the relationships and values they are intended to benefit.

Sometimes, we cannot say the same about business planning. In some cases, a corporation or limited liability company is nothing more than a legal entity. It may be established for asset protection or tax purposes, but it plays only a very small role in a client’s unique legacy.

Yet, this is not always the case. For many clients, their business is integral to their legacy. It is their biggest monetary asset, and a major influence in their relationships with family, friends, employees, and the community. For those clients, it is not enough to form a simple corporation or limited liability company, or even to have a partnership agreement or buy/sell contract between the shareholders. For those clients, more is needed to help their business grow and become a balanced part of their life and their legacy. One of the programs we have to accomplish this is the Your Corporate Counsel Advantage program.

Business Succession Planning can often clearly be connected to estate planning and business planning. Planning for how to exit your business has a direct relationship to planning your estate, providing for your loved ones, and nurturing the business that you worked so hard to create. Again, there are many documents and techniques available, from stock option plans or trusts to outright sale of the business. But only after going through a thorough counseling process to understand the client’s current situation and overall goals for business, family, and lifetime can we know which of these many business succession options will fit.

Business Coaching is sometimes a natural progression of working with clients. As their attorneys, we come to understand their business and their lives in a way that makes it natural for us to be able to help them see how to meet their goals of business growth, personal fulfillment, and a healthy balance between the two. As advisors to hundreds of businesses, we can apply our experience and insight to help business owners get more from their business without giving up more of their lives.

Video workshop series “Creating the Legacy You Choose”

All 8 parts of the video series “Creating the Legacy You Choose” are now available.

This website is for educational purposes and is not intended to provide specific legal advice. By using this website you understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and this law firm. The information on this site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your jurisdiction.