1. Unmarried Couples:

Did you know? There is no Common Law Marriage in New York State. Unmarried, cohabitating partners have no legal authority to act on behalf of one another in times of illness, incapacitation or death. Partners do not inherit anything from one another and the non-home-owning/non-leased partner can be forced to leave the home, unless the couple takes action by creating a Legal Plan.

The Law Office of Colleen M Terry, PLLC provides clients with personally tailored, well-thought-out Life & Legacy Plans that furnish unmarried couples with legal benefits that married couples automatically enjoy. Benefits which can include health insurance coverage, residential security, protection of real property, inheritance rights, the ability to speak to doctors and care for your partner as well as pay bills, mortgages & premiums on behalf of your partner when they cannot do so for themselves. A well-rounded plan considers and utilizes a variety of legal tools to achieve Client’s goals. These documents, correctly prepared by my office, allow unmarried couples to protect their Living arrangements & lifestyle, inherit from one another; care for one another in the event of illness or injury, maintain the shared home and act on behalf each other when needed to pay bills, the mortgage and to maintain digital online accounts & Assets.

2. Single Professionals:

According to U.S. Census data, there are more than 127 million single people 18 years and older living in America. 68% of this American population has absolutely no plan in place to maintain control over the most important personal of decisions regarding their Healthcare, Home, Pet Care, monetary accounts, Bill & Debt payments, Investments or Digital Assets in the event of Illness, Injury, incapacitation or death. If you do not act before the unexpected happens, New York law will take over and the New York Courts will make these important decisions for you and authorize Access, on their own time table.

The Law Office of Colleen M Terry, PLLC creates Personally tailored, well-thought-out Life & Legacy Plans that furnish Single Professionals with the ability to maintain control over the most intimate decisions regarding access to their home, Monetary accounts, bill payments, Online/digital accounts; access to treating doctors and insurance company(s) as well as control over the disposition of Assets and Debts in the event of death. A well-rounded plan considers and utilizes a variety of legal tools to achieve Client’s goals.

New York State as well as many of its Counties and Townships allow couples in committed relationships to become registered Domestic Partners. Registering as Domestic Partners provides Couples with access to health insurance benefits, access to their partners in state, city or county hospitals, the ability to take your partner’s last name and the ability to file joint State taxes, all without getting married. State or County employees enjoy even more legally protected municipal benefits in a registered domestic partnership.

The Law Office of Colleen M Terry, PLLC will explain the specific benefits each Couple may receive as a registered Domestic Partnership, guide Clients through the legal requirements of registering as a Domestic Partnership; prepare the necessary legal paperwork for filing with the Court, State or County Clerk, and will appear at the clerks office in person with Clients to complete the registration.

For Solo and Small Business Owners: 7% of the US population are business owners and 33.3 million businesses in the United States qualify as small businesses, 27.1 million of which are managed solely by their owners and do not employ any additional personnel. Per the 2023 US Census Bureau Women owned 11.2 million of the nation’s nonemployer businesses. Yet There are no New York State Laws that assist the solo business owner in maintaining their business operations, Commercial viability or pay bills, vendors and other debts in the event of the business owners illness, injury, incapacity or death. Business Succession Planning is piece of mind for the business you’ve worked so hard to build. Life Does Happen and unless you have a plan to deal with the unexpected, the business you worked so hard to build could crumble if you become disabled, incapacitated or should you die.

In times of serious illness, disability or incapacitation, how your business will continue to run, how it will service its customers and how it will continue to pay its bills, rent/lease and vendors is left up to you, the business owner to figure out. The first step to business planning is keeping the business going when you, the business owner cannot be at the helm. Ensuring the same level of service to customers, timely payment of bills and debts and keeping operations as close to normal as possible.

In the event of a business owners’ death, advanced planning to keep the business running between the time of an owner’s passing and the completion of the transfer of ownership and other needed transitional steps is vital. The goals at this stage are continuity and avoiding power struggles. You should know that as a general rule, a solo business owners’ business interests and business assets are part of the owners’ Estate which means you can include them in your will, trust or other Estate and business planning documents.

The Law Office of Colleen M Terry, PLLC works closely with clients to create a customized business succession plan covering a wide variety of scenarios. A tailored, well-thought-out Life & Legacy Plan provides the solo business owner the ability to maintain business operations to the extent possible, protect business assets & viability, maintain regular bill, lease, vendor & debt payments. A well-rounded Business plan considers and utilizes a variety of legal tools to achieve a Clients goals.

Estate Plans are not just for those in the Winter of life, “putting their affairs in order.” In fact, Wills & Trusts offer people at all stages of life security, control, flexibility and peace of mind, particularly for those with Minor Children.

A Will, formally known as a Last Will and Testament, is a signed document that appoints an executor to coordinate the distribution of your Estate after your death. It can also be used to appoint a guardian to care for Minor Children. Property disposed of in a Last Will and testament must go through the Probate process in State Court. A Trust is a Document that gives you, another person, or an institution the power to hold and manage your money for your benefit or the benefit of another person. A trust can serve many purposes, including estate planning, tax planning, medical planning, and charitable giving. Property held in a Trust does not need to go through Probate and can be distributed to the named beneficiaries at the time of the triggering event.

Take heart, when designing an effective estate plan, you needn’t choose between the two. It is entirely possible, and very common, to have both a Will and a Trust. Utilizing both of these Estate planning tools offers you, the Client, the greatest level of control and flexibility over your Life and your assets.  The very best Plan for you, is the decision to create one. If you fail to Act to protect your Life, your assets, even your children, State Law takes over and makes these decisions for you. The Law Office of Colleen M Terry, PLLC works one on one with clients to create a customized Estate plan. A tailored and well thought Estate Plan offers both control and flexibility to fit your personal lifestyle and needs.  Remember, the very best Plan for you, is the decision to create one.