Wills & Trusts Attorneys in Salt Lake County 

Health Care Directives

An advance health care directive ensures your medical wishes are honored even if you are unable to communicate those wishes to health care providers. This document gives your named agent authority to make major medical decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated. The health care directive can include the power to sign consent forms or releases with health care providers. The directive also functions as a living will for end-of-life decisions.

During the planning process, we encourage clients to think through real-world scenarios, such as whether they would want life-sustaining treatment in certain circumstances or who they trust to speak with doctors at hospitals serving Salt Lake County. We explain how Utah law treats advance health care directives and how this single document can replace older “living will” and medical power of attorney forms so your wishes are clear and easier for your family to follow.

Special Needs Trusts

Physically or mentally disabled persons often depend on important government-funded programs, such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income. These and other benefit programs, including programs funded by the State of Utah, often consider an applicant’s assets and/or income when determining eligibility.

A proper estate plan will ensure your beneficiaries receive as much of your estate as possible without jeopardizing their eligibility for these benefit programs. Our will and trust attorneys in Salt Lake County are familiar with the complexities of creating an estate plan that protects the interests of beneficiaries enrolled in such programs. By creating a special needs trust (also known as a supplemental needs trust), we can help you leave assets to your beneficiary in a way that supplements – rather than replaces – the benefits he or she receives from other sources.

When we structure a special needs trust, we discuss how the trustee will use funds for things like education, transportation, and quality-of-life expenses that public benefits do not cover. We also review which family members should contribute to the trust and how to coordinate life insurance, retirement accounts, and other assets so that inheritances do not unintentionally disqualify your loved one from critical services.

Blended Family Estate Plans

At Eric M. Swinyard & Associates, PLLC, we understand that each family situation is unique and provides its own opportunities as well as risks. Second marriages require careful estate planning to maintain family harmony after the death of the parents. An estate plan for a blended family requires considering the needs of both parents as well as their children – children from the present marriage in addition to those from previous relationships.

If the parents of a blended family die without an estate plan in place, there is no guarantee the children will receive the share of the estate to which they are entitled. Hiring an attorney to prepare an estate plan can help avoid potential complicating factors that often arise with blended family estate plans.

We regularly work with couples in South Jordan and surrounding communities to address questions such as whether assets should pass first to a surviving spouse or directly to children from a prior relationship. Together, we explore options like marital trusts, life insurance planning, and written agreements that make expectations clear so that each side of the family is treated fairly and costly arguments are less likely to arise.