Wills

•  McGill & LaNoce works with individuals, couples and families to assist in their estate planning needs, the most basic of which are Wills, Powers of Attorney and Advanced Directives/Living Wills.
•  The firm drafts Wills which sets forth the client’s beneficiaries and the manner in which they inherit the client’s property. The Will also designates who will be the Executor of the client’s estate and, if applicable, the Guardian and/or Trustee for certain beneficiaries. When a person dies without a Will, the laws of Pennsylvania determine to whom property is distributed and who administers the estate.
• Powers of Attorney, both Financial and Medical, are drafted to appoint an Agent to act on behalf of the client while they are alive. It is an important document to have in place before an individual becomes mentally or physically incapacitated so as to avoid the need for a Court-appointed Guardian.
• Advanced Medical Directives/Living Wills gives direction to a client’s family and health care provider when the client is unable to do so. 

Estates

An estate can be settled in Pennsylvania by either a Family Settlement Agreement or a formal adjudication from the Orphans’ Court.  An Executors’ responsibilities and obligations in this process if not performed properly and in a timely manner can subject the estate and the Executor to liability. McGill & LaNoce guides Executors through the administration of an estate from registering or probating a Will to settling the estate.   Some of the duties include the preparation of federal estate tax returns, Pennsylvania inheritance tax returns, fiduciary income tax returns, an accounting of the estate’s assets and a schedule of distributions to the beneficiaries.  Executors are entitled to compensation.

When a person dies without a Will, it is referred to as dying intestate and the property of the decedent is distributed in accordance with the laws of Pennsylvania.  Our office assists families in administrating and settling estates of persons who die intestate. 

Learn more about how McGill & LaNoce can help you. You can contact us by phone at (215) 483-1020 or visit our offices in the heart of Roxborough and Flourtown.