Estate Planning Services


Why is Estate Planning Important to You

Last Will & Testament Estate planning is important, regardless of the size of your estate. Everyone will at some point be forced to deal with death, disability, or incapacity either of a close loved one or themselves. These major life events can be very costly—in financial, emotional, and temporal terms—if not properly planned for. If you delay in planning for your death, disability, or incapacity until it is too late, your intended beneficiaries (those you care for most) may not be taken care of as you would like whether due to extra administration costs—financial and temporal, unnecessary taxes, or infighting among heirs.


Call 303-758-9910 today to schedule a consultation.


What You Can Expect From Us

At D. White Law, you will receive with the personalized attention you deserve from an attorney that will thoroughly assess your unique situation and formulate an estate plan that comports to your desires and the particular needs of your family.


Estate Planning Services That We Offer

  • Advance Directives

    • Durable Powers of Attorney

      • Often referred to as the most important estate planning document, the durable power of attorney is for managing your property during your life time should you ever become unable to do so yourself. Under this document, you appoint a person (your “attorney-in-fact”) to act in your place for financial purposes if you become incapacitated.

    • Medical Durable Powers of Attorney

      • This document allows you to designate someone you choose to make health care decisions for you if you are unable to do so yourself.

    • Living Wills

      • This document instructs your health care provider to withdraw or to continue life support if you are terminally ill or vegetative state, depending on your wishes.

  • Wills

    • Last Will and Testament

      • A Will (formally called a Last Will and Testament) manages and distributes all your probate property after you die

    • Trusts
      • Testamentary Trusts

        • A testamentary trust is a trust built into a Will. This type of trust does not come into effect until your Will goes through the probate process.

        Your Will would nominate a trustee to oversee the property that your Will puts into the trust. The trustee must manage, administer, and distribute the trust according to the terms of the trust contained in your Will.

        This type of trust can be used to reduce estate taxes on the death of a surviving spouse or provide for the care of minor or disabled children.

      • Living Trusts

        • A living trust (also called an inter vivos trust) is a trust that comes into effect in your life time.

            Revocable Trusts

        A revocable trust allows you to maintain control over the trust and amend, revoke, or terminate it at any time.

        A living trust can achieve several advantages for someone planning their estate.

        It can be used to manage one’s property during life and after, allowing for the seamless management and distribution of property upon death. This advantage allows a trustee to invest the trust property for the benefit of one or more beneficiaries that you designate.

        The use of revocable trusts avoids probate. Upon your death property in trust will pass to the trust’s named beneficiaries. The property in trust does not fall under a probate court’s jurisdiction. However, the probate process is so streamlined in Colorado (nearly 90% of probate cases are administered without Court intervention) this advantage alone is not a justification for using a revocable trust. (Note that the property is still included in calculating the decedent’s estate value for estate tax purposes.)

        A revocable trust can be used so that the assets will not be included in the beneficiaries’ estates, allowing them to avoid taxes when they die.

        A revocable trust can be used for privacy purposes, whereas a Will is made public as it is probated.

            Irrevocable Living Trusts

        Irrevocable living trusts cannot be changed or amended by the settler (the person that created the trust).

        These types of trusts are popular for Medicaid Planning.


      • Other Examples of Trusts
        • Supplemental Needs Trusts
        • Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts
        • Credit Shelter Trusts

  • Other Related Services Include:

    • Tax-Planning
    • Business Succession Planning
    • Disability and Long-term Care Planning
    • Medicaid Planning
    • Insurance Planning