We do estate planning and estate administration. And we do it well.

Asheville and Hendersonville Estate Planning Attorneys 

 

Upcoming Events
 

Client Seminars


Advisors Forum Interdisciplinary Series

Seminar: Interdisciplinary Webinar Series: Life Expectancy and Health Care Planning - Asheville
Type: Presenter: Lewis Walker, CFP®
Health care and wealth care are inextricably intertwined. Realistic estimates of health care costs in retirement are necessary in a fiduciary practice. The challenge is compounded by the lowest interest rates in decades and the potential for rising rates and galloping inflation. Life expectancy has risen 60% in the last century, which results in clients needing to save more in order to retire. Arguably, one of the key events that most greatly affects your life and the planning delivered to clients is the increase in life expectancy.
In 2002, Fidelity estimated that a couple age 65 retiring in 2002 would need $160,000 to cover medical expenses, but that estimate rose to $240,000 in 2012.
Join Lewis J. Walker, CFP® as he discusses the health care planning that clients will have to prepare for in retirement.
Location: 77 Central Ave., Suite F
Asheville, NC 28801
Date: May 21, 2013
Time: 12:30 pm
Register Online
Seminar: Interdisciplinary Webinar Series: Life Expectancy and Health Care Planning - Hendersonville
Type: Presenter: Lewis Walker, CFP®
Health care and wealth care are inextricably intertwined. Realistic estimates of health care costs in retirement are necessary in a fiduciary practice. The challenge is compounded by the lowest interest rates in decades and the potential for rising rates and galloping inflation. Life expectancy has risen 60% in the last century, which results in clients needing to save more in order to retire. Arguably, one of the key events that most greatly affects your life and the planning delivered to clients is the increase in life expectancy.
In 2002, Fidelity estimated that a couple age 65 retiring in 2002 would need $160,000 to cover medical expenses, but that estimate rose to $240,000 in 2012.
Join Lewis J. Walker, CFP® as he discusses the health care planning that clients will have to prepare for in retirement.
Location: 104 N. Washington St.
Hendersonville, NC 28739
Date: May 21, 2013
Time: 12:30 pm
Register Online
Seminar: Interdisciplinary Webinar Series: 2013 Investment Strategies: Liability-Relative Optimization - Asheville
Type: Presenter:David Blanchett, AAMS, AIFA, CFP®, CFA, CLU, ChFC, Head of Retirement Research, Morningstar Investment Management
People invest to fund a goal, therefore, the risk factors associated with the goal, or liability, should be considered when building a portfolio whose objective is to achieve that goal. The concept of liability-driven investing has become increasingly popular in defined benefit plans, pensions, endowments, and foundations and is now increasingly used for target maturity and retirement income funds. In this presentation David Blanchett will touch on recent Morningstar research on liability-driven investing and explore the asset allocation differences that result from a traditional asset-only optimization framework to asset allocations built from the liability-relative optimization framework.
Location: 77 Central Ave., Suite F.
Asheville, NC 28801
Date: June 18, 2013
Time: 12:30 pm
Register Online
Seminar: Interdisciplinary Webinar Series: 2013 Investment Strategies: Liability-Relative Optimization - Hendersonville
Type: Presenter:David Blanchett, AAMS, AIFA, CFP®, CFA, CLU, ChFC, Head of Retirement Research, Morningstar Investment Management
People invest to fund a goal, therefore, the risk factors associated with the goal, or liability, should be considered when building a portfolio whose objective is to achieve that goal. The concept of liability-driven investing has become increasingly popular in defined benefit plans, pensions, endowments, and foundations and is now increasingly used for target maturity and retirement income funds. In this presentation David Blanchett will touch on recent Morningstar research on liability-driven investing and explore the asset allocation differences that result from a traditional asset-only optimization framework to asset allocations built from the liability-relative optimization framework.
Location: 104 N. Washington St.
Hendersonville, NC 28739
Date: June 18, 2013
Time: 12:30 pm
Register Online


Advisors Forum CPE for CPAs Series

Seminar: CPE Series for CPAs: Income-Shifting Trusts - Hendersonville
Type: Presenter: Robert S. Keebler, CPA, MST, AEP (Distinguished)
Location: 104 N. Washington St.
Hendersonville, NC 28739
Date: May 28, 2013
Time: 12:30 pm
Register Online
Seminar: CPE Series for CPAs: Income-Shifting Trusts - Asheville
Type: Presenter: Robert S. Keebler, CPA, MST, AEP (Distinguished)

Location: 77 Central Ave., Suite F.
Asheville, NC 28801
Date: May 28, 2013
Time: 12:30 pm
Register Online

   
 


Strauss & Associates, P.A. on LinkedIn


AV Peer Review Rated | Preeminent | 2011 | Andrew A. Strauss

 

WealthCounsel, LLC

 

Do you want to protect your children's inheritance from creditors, predators and divorce? Do you want to avoid paying unnecessary estate taxes? Do you have a business that you wish to pass along to a loved one without complications? Do you have questions about Medicaid expenses, and how they will affect your legacy to your spouse or children?

Strauss & Associates, P.A., located in Asheville and Hendersonville, North Carolina, can provide the answers. Our estate planning lawyers offer dedicated and informative representation in estate planning, transfer tax planning, probate administration, asset protection, elder law services, and related areas. Handling these matters is all we do, and you can be confident we do it well.

Plan your legacy. Protect your assets. Contact our experienced attorneys now at (828) 258-0994 or (828) 696-1811

  

Customized Estate Planning Services Based on Your Needs and Goals

Our firm strongly believes that a team-oriented holistic approach is vital to the creation of an effective estate plan. We work to identify your specific needs, discuss your objectives, and, if necessary, bring in accountants, financial planners and/or other professionals for guidance. We take great pride in providing customized estate plans that grant you peace of mind.

In addition, we strive to remain in constant communication with our clients during the estate planning process and to keep them informed of any developments that may affect their overall goals.

  

Family and Wealth Protection through Cutting Edge, State of the Art Estate Planning Strategies

Some important goals of any estate plan are to protect assets and minimize tax liability. It is critical to provide the latest estate planning tools to achieve these objectives.

We were one of first law firms in western North Carolina to use family limited partnerships (FLPs), limited liability companies (LLCs), and revocable living trusts to protect people's estate plan. Other ways to protect assets and avoid unnecessary tax liability include:

  

Representing You in Probate Court

Clients often come to us when a loved one has passed away without leaving behind a will or a trust. For these clients, the confusion over how to handle the deceased’s estate coupled with the raw emotion of their personal loss can make for a confusing and emotionally exhausting time. Our significant experience in the area of probate, estate administration and trust administration can help put their minds at ease and spare them unnecessary anxiety. Contact a probate lawyer at our firm today to discuss your needs.

Contact Us to Plan Your Legacy

For more information or to schedule an appointment with an experienced estate planning lawyer, please contact us. We also welcome calls from financial planners and accountants in need of an estate planning attorney for their clientele.
 



Overview of Major Practice Areas:
 


Estate planning
: We take great pride in designing and constructing comprehensive estate plans which address our clients' exact wishes.

Our firm assists with estate planning for all types of individuals and families, including the many elderly retirees that move to North Carolina. See our specific pages on:

Asset protection: Without a proper asset protection plan in place, you could stand to lose your hard-earned resources due to our highly litigious legal environment.

Business formation: We help analyze entity selections and draft partnership and LLC operating agreements.

Business succession planning: Selling a business to a third party or passing it down to an employee or family member requires a structured plan. Our attorneys have extensive experience creating detailed and exhaustive business succession plans.

Medicaid - elder law: If you are seeking long-term nursing care for your elderly loved one, you may not want personal finances and assets to cover all of their expenses. We help clients structure plans to ensure qualification for Medicaid, which can help cover certain living expenses.

IRA planning: Our estate planning lawyers help named beneficiaries properly manage their inherited IRA and 401(k) balances.

Charitable planning: Our attorneys have significant experience setting up charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, and private foundations. Charitable planning can be especially effective if you are seeking estate and income tax deductions.

Probate and estate administration: Regardless of whether a loved one dies with or without an estate plan, we can assist you with both post-mortem planning and estate administration. There are certain strategies that we can employ to achieve tax savings and to simplify the administration of the estate, even after your loved has died.

Wills and trusts - We work extensively with clients to determine their estate planning objectives and create a will or living trust that accurately reflects their wishes. Everyone from a beloved family member to a favorite pet can benefit from a will or trust.

Estate tax and gift tax planning - The goal in most estate tax and gift tax planning is to minimize the taxes due at death. Strategies include reducing the value of the estate by establishing a family limited partnership or limited liability company, among others.

Estate planning and life insurance: We use life insurance as an estate planning tool, sometimes placing it in a trust to pass along to beneficiaries.

 

How Can We Help You?

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