Conroy Law Offices

310 N High Street
West Chester, PA 19381

610-696-0441

Safeguard what you’ve worked for, protect your family, decide who will take care of those you love.”

Conroy Law Offices
310 N High Street
West Chester, Pennsylvania
Tel.: 610-696-0441
Fax : 610-696-6440
egc@conroylaw.net

Conroy Law Offices Areas of Practice

We practice in the areas of estate planning and administration. Usually that means considering, at least, many of the specific services listed on our home page. Sometimes that will include rearranging ownership of property presently held, changing beneficiaries of retirement accounts, dividing jointly held property, and making succession to property automatic by attaching transfer on death" or "pay on death" to instruments of title.

But estate planning always starts with a will, drawn carefully, explained thoroughly, witnessed properly, and usually notarized. It should name a trusted or responsible person or other entity as executor to carry out your instructions and, where necessary, to make decisions about your estate. It is very impo11ant that unlikely scenarios, even unpleasant ones, be thought about and provided for. Children do not always survive their parents, widowed daughters-in-law remarry, named executors sometimes are unable or unwilling to take on that responsibility, grandchildren are sometimes too young to handle money or, young or not, unable to handle a business. Each of these sorts of things should be considered and, on this one occasion, at least, addressed.

It is often useful to leave property to a trust. Some of your prospective heirs will not presently be able to handle the assets you would leave them. Some will never be able to. A trustee can do that handling, carrying out what you would probably want done with any general instructions, e.g., spend your money only for education or divide income according to need. Further, there are a myriad of circumstances where trusts are needed if only to avoid taxes.

Estate administration is what your executor (named in your will) or administrator (not named in your will, usually selected in accordance with laws relating to estates not provided for in a will) does with your property when you die. In short, he has to pay your bills, find out what everything in your estate is worth, provide for taxes, and distribute things as you or the intestacy laws direct. But, in and around all of those tasks he has notices to give, reports to make, returns to file, advertising to arrange for, calculations to put together and a host of other thing􀁛 to look to. We provide advice for the major and incidental items. keeping the government's revenue departments, courts, and heirs as contented as possible. We usually gather the information as the executor needs, prepare tax returns, recommend payments and distributions, and advise and assist with all of the other matters the executor must attend to.