Welcome to the Elder Law Firm of Pete Fields, a Greenville estate planning attorney in South Carolina.

Pete’s Clemson estate planning office focuses on South Carolina Medicaid applications, Wills, Taxation, Estate Planning, Special Needs, Asset Protection Planning, Trusts, Powers of Attorney and Guardianships & Conservatorships.

Pete’s estate planning office has several Greenville estate planning lawyers specializing in elder law. Retirees, Baby Boomers, and Seniors should come to The Fields Law Firm in Clemson or Greenville and have their estate plans completed before it’s too late.

Check out a sample question and what Pete can answer for you:

Q. If I set up a South Carolina Living Trust, what bank will my Trust be located in?

A. Your “Living” Trust will not be located in any specific bank. You will still maintain control of your Trust and if your name is John Doe, your Trust will be titled “John Doe, Trustee of The John Doe Living Trust dated June 1, 2005 (or whatever date you sign the trust)”. You will still have complete control of all of your assets, you will still file your own 1040 Income Tax Return, your property taxes will not change, you can revoke or amend the Trust when you die, and your accounts wherever they were before you established a Living Trust will remain at those specific financial institutions as you will only retitle those accounts into the name of your Trust, etc.

Q. Will our children have to pay taxes on our estate when we die?

A. When you talk about taxes in reference to an estate, you are talking typically about the Federal Estate Tax and also any State Estate Tax. In many states if the estate does not owe a Federal Estate Tax, the estate also does not owe a State Estate Tax. Again, in other states, they may have a separate estate/inheritance tax system which is not dependent on whether the estate owes Federal Estate Tax. The estate will typically owe Federal Estate Tax if in the year 2005, the decedent passes away and the decendent’s estate is in excess of $1.5 million dollars of net worth. The exemption increases every year and you should contact a competent Estate Tax attorney or CPA to determine what the exemptions are in future years.

The Fields Law Firm has Clemson attorneys and Greenville attorneys in South Carolina who concentrate in estate planning and are ready to help you and your family.